THE 

PROCLAMATION 

OF 


ItJOJiijjIiljn  ;•:*!•>>  )  (»i»:ii!j.i;:i 

ilillililllj!  !;  hlllljlllljjliililij'lli 


GIFT   OF 


"It  is  finished: 


The 


Proclamation  of  Liberty 


and  the 


Unpardonable  Sin 


By  ALBION  F.  BALLENGER 

AUTHOR  OF 

"  Power  for  Witnessing  " 


"Proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof."  Lev.  25:  10. 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the  poor:  He  hath 
sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the  captives,  and  the  recover- 
ing of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised."  Luke  4:18,  R.  V. 


RIVERSIDE,  CALIFORNIA 
1915 


Copyright  1915 
BY  ALBION  F.  BALLENGER 


PREFACE 


If  the  reader  would  know  at  once  what  is  the  central 
thought, — the  all-absorbing  theme, — the  body,  soul  and 
spirit  of  this  book,  it  is  summed  up  in  the  final  words  of 
our  dying  Lord,  "It  is  finished."  This  is  an  effort  to 
reveal  something  of  the  unsearchable  riches  of  redemp- 
tion declared  finished  in  these  three  tragic  but  triumphant 
words. 

For  four  thousand  years  the  God  of  all  grace  labored 
to  focus  men's  eyes  on  the  facts  of  this  finished  work. 
Every  bleeding  lamb  from  Eden's  gate  to  Golgotha's 
grave  foreshadowed  that  momentous  hour.  And  when 
that  hour  is  passed,  a  new  symbol — the  blood  of  the  grape 
and  the  broken  bread — points  back  to  that  same  solemn 
hour.  That  which  an  all-wise  God  has  tried,  in  all  ages, 
by  all  means,  to  get  all  men  to  see,  must  be  in  His  mind 
all-important. 

The  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  comprehended  more 
clearly  than  other  men  the  fullness  of  that  finished  work. 
To  his  Corinthian  converts  he  declared  his  working  creed 
in  this  brief  sentence:  "I  determined  not  to  know  any- 
thing among  you  save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 
With  this  truth  came  an  enthusiasm  which  neither  ship- 
wreck nor  starving,  scourging  nor  stoning  could  destroy. 

O  for  more  such  "chief  of  sinners"  saved  by  grace, 
whom  a  backsliding  Barnabas,  a  dissembling  Simon,  or 
a  departing  Demas  cannot  discourage;  whom  modern 
commercialism,  or  criticism,  or  creedism  cannot  conquer ! 

Though  dealing  with  deep  things,  the  author  has 
striven  at  every  step  to  make  the  path  so  plain  that  the 

5 

32719ft 


'    PREFACE 

feeblest  wayfarer  may  find  the  way.  At  the  same  time  it 
is  hoped  that  the  devoted  student,  familiar  with  the  con- 
troversies of  Calvinism,  Universalism  and  Arminianism, 
may  find  in  these  pages  some  helpful  thoughts. 

With  rejoicing  this  book  is  sent  forth  as  a  companion 
to  "Power  for  Witnessing,"  and  the  author  prays  that 
it  may  reveal  to  some  waiting  soul  the  gospel  truth  that 
he  need  wait  no  longer  for  full  salvation,  but  may  now, 
by  faith,  take  this  gift  already  given  through  that  work 
of  Christ  of  which  He  declared  with  His  final  breath, 
"It  is  finished." 

"Then  doubt  not  thy  welcome  since  God  has  declared 

There   remaineth   no   more   to  be   done; 
That  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  He  appeared, 
And  completed  the  work  He  begun." 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PROCLAIM  LIBERTY 9 

II.     DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH      ...  12 

III.  "LIBERTY  THROUGH  LIFE" 19 

IV.  "TELL  HIM  HE  Is  FREED"  (Illustrated)      .  21 
V.     "TELL  HIM  HE  Is  FREE"  (Applied)      .      .  25 

VI.  "WE  KNOW  No  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH"   .  30 

VII.  "MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY"     ...  37 

VIII.  "THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY" 42 

IX.  "FREED  FROM  THE  LAW" 50 

X.  "UNDER  GRACE" 56 

XL  "Is  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?  "...  60 

XII.  "I  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE" 67 

XIII.  "SHALL  WE  SIN  TO  SHOW  WE  ARE  FREE?"  73 

XIV.  A    FREEMAN'S    FROCK    ON   A   BONDMAN'S 

BACK    (Illustrated) 78 

XV.     A   FREEMAN'S   FROCK    ON    A    BONDMAN'S 

BACK   (Applied) 83 

XVI.     MAKING  FREEMEN  BY  FORCE     ....     88 

XVII.     FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY 90 

•CVIII.     BURYING  THE   BONDMAN  ;   OR,   FAITH   AT 

WORK 95 

XIX.     THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN     .      .      .      .      .   102 

XX.    WHAT  Is  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN     .   105 

XXI.     WHAT  Is  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN?   .      .112 

XXII.     A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED  ,   118 


8 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

XXIII.  THE   UNPARDONABLE    SIN    AND   THE 

SECOND  DEATH 129 

XXIV.  "THAT  HE  MIGHT  HIMSELF  BE  JUST"  135 
XXV.     THE  PART  THE  LAW  PLAYS  IN  THE 

UNPARDONABLE  SIN 137 

XXVI.     LIBERTY  Is  NOT  LICENSE     ....  144 
XXVII.     SERVING  IN  NEWNESS  OF  LIFE     .      .  151 
XXVIII.     "DOTH  NOT  THE  SON  BEAR  THE  INIQ- 
UITY OF  THE  FATHER?"     ....  155 
XXIX.     "VISITING    THE    INIQUITIES    OF    THE 

FATHERS  UPON  THE  CHILDREN"  .      .  159 
XXX.     THE   PROCLAMATION   OF   LIBERTY  IN 

THE  NEW  COVENANT 164 

XXXI.     THE  SLAVEMASTER  As   MINISTER  OF 

LIBERTY 178 

XXXII.     THE  AMBASSADOR'S  ENTHUSIASM       .  187 

XXXIII.  How  GOD  OVERCOMES  WHEN  HE  Is 

JUDGED   .      .      . 190 

XXXIV.  PROCLAIMING    LIBERTY    WITHOUT    A 

PROCLAMATION 197 

XXXV.     PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY  WITH  A  PROC- 
LAMATION      203 

XXXVI.     FAITHLESS  FREEDMEN 208 

XXXVII.     THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE    ...  211 

XXXVIII.     FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN  ....  216 

XXXIX.    THE  FAITHFUL  FREEDMEN     ...  230 
XL.     THE  ORIGINAL  PROCLAMATION,  Is  IT 

AUTHENTIC? 235 

XLI.     THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY     .  240 

XLII.     FALSE  WITNESSES 248 

XLIII.     How  THE  CAUSE  WAS  ONCE  SAVED     .  252 

XLIV.     PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE       ....  256 
XLV.    A    WONDERFUL    DELIVERANCE    FROM 

SIN  AND  SICKNESS  259 


The  Proclamation  of  Liberty  and  the 
Unpardonable  Sin 


"  PROCLAIM  LIBERTY  " 

Among  those  who  attended  the  services  was  a  man 
who  listened  earnestly  to  the  proclamation  of  liberty,  but 
who  could  see  nothing  in  it.  Was  he  not  a  slave  to  his 
besetting  sins?  Had  he  not  labored  and  struggled  to  be 
free  from  the  tyranny  of  his  inherited  and  cultivated 
tendencies  to  sin?  How  could  it  be  that  he  was  free 
when  he  was  so  evidently  enslaved? 

As  one  after  another  of  those  who  had  accepted  the 
blessed  message  testified  to  the  peace  and  joy  and  victory 
they  were  experiencing  in  believing,  he  would  look  at 
them  with  a  perplexity  which  seemed  to  say:  "I  can't 
understand  it.  It  is  all  foolishness  to  me.  How  can  a 
man  be  free  when  he  is  a  slave?"  But  the  joyful  wit- 
nessing of  the  others  impressed  him  that  there  must  be 
something  real  in  it  not  yet  discovered  by  him. 

At  the  close  of  the  service  he  came  forward  and  said, 
"Won't  you  explain  this  to  me  privately  ?  "  Our  inter- 
view lasted  until  midnight,  with  no  apparent  success. 
The  following  evening  the  same  request  was  made,  with 
no  better  results. 

The  next  afternoon  the  Lord  was  sought  in  earnest 
prayer  for  power  to  make  the  gospel  plain  so  that  the 
weakest  might  understand.  Soon  the  man  came  in  and 
said :  "I  am  afraid  you  will  leave  before  I  am  delivered." 
With  a  heart  yearning  to  help  him,  I  replied,  "You  are 

9 


10,  .  :  •;     .  .  -.  -    "PROCLAIM  LIBERTY" 

*    v  &  *  „ 

free.  The  Lord  has  already  set  you  free."  Out  of  re- 
spect for  the  messenger  he  did  not  contradict  the  state- 
ment, but  his  face  wore  an  expression  of  pain  at  what 
seemed  to  be  a  plain  contradiction  of  the  facts. 

"Here  is  an  illustration  that  will  help  you,"  was  the 
answer:  "On  January  first,  1863,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  issued  an  emancipation  proclamation,  pro- 
claiming liberty  to  all  the  slaves  within  the  Southern 
States,  then  in  rebellion.  After  that  proclamation,  how 
many  slaves  were  there  in  those  States  ?  " 

"None,"  the  man  replied. 

"But  notwithstanding  that  proclamation,  there  were 
colored  men  and  women  who  continued  in  slavery  long 
after  the  proclamation  was  made.  Some  had  kind  mas- 
ters and  did  not  desire  to  leave;  but  others  who  longed 
for  freedom  were  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  proclamation 
that  had  made  them  free.  They  were  driven  into  the 
fields  to  work  like  beasts  of  burden,  as  if  they  had  never 
been  set  free.  Are  they  not  freed  men  ?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  the  man. 

"Have  their  former  masters  any  right  to  treat  them 
as  slaves  ?  " 

"No,"  was  the  quick  reply. 

"Have  they  any  lawful  power  to  treat  them  as 
slaves?" 

"No,"  came  the  answer  with  increasing  confidence. 

"How  long  will  the  colored  man  continue  to  serve  as 
a  slave?" 

"Until  he  learns  that  he  is  not  a  slave,"  replied  the 
man  with  a  gleam  of  hope  in  his  face. 

"How  long  will  his  old  master  continue  to  treat  him 
as  a  beast  of  burden  ?  " 

"Until  the  colored  man  learns  that  he  cannot  enslave 
him." 

"The  old  master  knows  that  the  moment  the  colored 


"PROCLAIM  LIBERTY  "  \  \ 

man  learns  that  he  is  free,  his  unlawful  control  over  him 
is  ended.  On  what,  then,  does  the  poor  man's  bondage 
and  the  slave  master's  power  rest  ?  " 

"On  the  ignorance  of  the  colored  man." 

"His  ignorance  of  what?" 

"His  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  he  has  been  pro- 
claimed free." 

"Then  he  will  experience  freedom  the  moment  he  be- 
lieves what  is  already  proclaimed,  in  the  proclamation, 
that  he  is  free" 

"Yes." 

"And  so  will  you.  You  were  born  a  slave  because 
you  were  born  with  a  slave's  nature,  and  through  this 
carnal  nature  you  have  transgressed  the  law  of  God,  and 
have  thus  added  to  your  slavery.  But  Christ  came  and 
took  your  carnal  nature,  together  with  your  sins,  and 
carried  all  to  Calvary,  and  was  crucified  and  there  died 
as  your  substitute.  When  he  died  as  your  substitute,  the 
price  was  paid  for  your  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of 
sin.  Tor  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin.' 

"Here  is  your  emancipation  proclamation.  You  have 
been  free  all  these  years,  in  the  plan  of  the  proclamation, 
but  you  did  not  know  it.  You  did  not  believe  the  procla- 
mation. The  President  of  the  Universe  proclaimed  you 
free  long  ago ;  but  you  did  not  believe  it,  and  so  you  have 
lived  as  Satan's  slave,  though  proclaimed  long  ago  to  be 
God's  free  man." 

Without  saying  a  word  the  man  arose,  went  to  his 
room,  and  kneeling,  offered  praise  and  thanksgiving  to 
God  for  the  freedom  which  had  been  his,  but  which  until 
now  he  had  not  accepted.  When  he  returned  he  was  in- 
deed a  transformed  man.  And  when  opportunity  was 
offered  in  the  evening  service,  he  bore  glad  witness  to  the 
deliverance  he  had  experienced  through  faith  in  the  free- 
dom proclaimed  through  the  cross.  In  order  that  the 


12  "  PROCLAIM  LIBERTY  " 

reader  may  get  a  true  conception  of  the  change  wrought 
in  this  man's  life  on  this  occasion,  a  letter  from  him, 
received  six  months  later,  has  been  inserted  at  the  close 
of  chapter  five. 


DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH 

During  the  civil  war  a  number  of  drafts  were  made 
in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  as  a  result  of  one  of  them 
a  young  married  man  was  drawn. 

When  the  letter  notifying  him  of  the  fact  reached  his 
home  the  young  wife  and  children  cried  and  clung  to 
him  as  if  the  notice  was  a  sentence  of  death.  So  many 
of  the  neighbors  had  gone  to  the  front  never  to  return, 
or  returning  only  to  fill  a  new  made  grave  in  the  city 
cemetery,  that  a  summons  to  the  front  seemed  to  the  sor- 
rowing ones  the  same  as  a  call  from  the  angel  of  death. 

A  young  unmarried  man  living  in  the  home  watched 
the  scene  until  he  could  endure  it  no  longer. 

"John,"  said  the  young  man,  -"you  need  not  go.  I 
will  go  as  your  substitute !  Mary,  stop  your  crying !  Chil- 
dren, wipe  away  your  tears!  I  will  go  in  John's  place. 
If  I  am  killed  there  will  be  no  widow  and  no  orphans 
left  to  mourn." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  hearts  of  the  little  group 
were  filled  with  gratitude.  But  it  was  not  many  months 
before  this  saviour-substitute  returned  a  corpse,  and  John 
and  Mary  and  the  children  followed  it  sorrowing  to  the 
cemetery. 

More  men  were  needed  and  another  draft  was  or- 
dered, and  again  the  young  husband  was  drawn.  Again 
the  mother  and  children  began  to  weep  as  before,  but 


DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH  13 

John  soon  comforted  them  with  the  assurance  that  he 
would  not  need  to  go. 

Taking  the  notice  with  him  he  went  to  the  recruiting 
office  and  handing  it  to  the  officer,  said: 

"The  man  named  in  that  draft  is  dead." 

"But,"  responded  the  officer,  "is  not  that  your  name  ?'' 

"Yes;  but  I  am  dead." 

"You  look  very  much  alive." 

"That  may  be,  but  I  am  dead.  I  was  drawn  by  the 
preceding  draft,  and  a  friend  volunteered  to  go  as  my 
substitute  and  went,  was  killed,  and  his  body  now  lies 
among  the  stricken  soldiers  beneath  the  snow  in  the  city 
cemetery.  Therefore,  I  am  dead  to  the  law  of  that  draft 
by  the  body  of  my  substitute  who  is  sleeping  there." 

"That  is  right,"  replied  the  officer,  "You  cannot  kill  a 
man  but  once.  You  are  counted  dead  to  the  law  through 
the  body  of  your  substitute." 

And  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  Paul : 

"Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  were  made  dead 
to  the  law  through  the  body  of  Christ."  Rom.  7 : 4. 
(R.  V.) 

This  term  "made  dead"  is  translated  "put  to  death" 
in  Luke  21 :  16  and  1  Pet.  3 :  18,  and  that  is  its  literal 
meaning. 

As  John  was  put  to  death  to  the  law  that  drafted 
him,  in  the  death  of  his  substitute,  so  the  sinner  was  put 
to  death  to  the  law  when  Christ  was  "put  to  death  in  the 
flesh"  (1  Pet.  3:  18)  as  the  substitute  for  the  sinner. 

As  a  result,  Paul  declares :  "We  have  been  discharged 
from  the  law,  having  died  to  that  wherein  we  were 
holden ;  so  that  we  serve  in  newness  of  spirit  and  not  in 
the  oldness  of  the  letter."  Rom.  7:6.  (R.  V.) 

Thus  the  death  of  Christ  is  the  emancipation  procla- 
mation that  has  redeemed  a  world  from  the  curse  of  the 
law. 


•I1 

o 


DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH  15 

The  power  of  Pentecost  was  given  to  men  to  enable 
them  to  proclaim  the  gospel, — the  good  news  that  God 
has  set  free  a  world  of  slaves.  Mark  the  tense, — that 
God  has  set  them  free.  A  realization  of  this  glorious 
truth  is  necessary  before  any  soul  is  prepared  for  the 
power  of  Pentecost.  No  soul  will  ever  realize  this  truth 
who  does  not  experience  the  emancipating  power  of  the 
cross  of  Calvary. 

The  power  of  Pentecost  is  given  to  proclaim  the  good 
news  that  men  are  free;  "to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives"; to  proclaim  an  open  door  to  their  prison — not  a 
door  to  be  opened. 
The  cross  of  Calvary  is  this  open  door. 

To  illustrate:  If,  after  the  President  of  the  United 
States  had  issued  his  Emancipation  Proclamation,  which 
set  free  four  millions  of  slaves,  he  had  chosen  you  as  his 
agent  to  go  into  the  slave-holding  States  and  publish  the 
good  news  of  the  proclamation,  what  would  you  proclaim? 
Would  you  tell  them  that  the  President  was  going  to  set 
them  free  ?  If  you  did,  you  would  not  be  telling  the  truth, 
and  the  President  would  not  choose  you  and  furnish  you 
with  power  and  protection  to  proclaim  any  such  message. 
If  you  faithfully  published  the  good  news  of  the  procla- 
mation, you  would  tell  the  colored  man  that  the  President 
had  set  him  free.  It  matters  not  how  much  apparent 
slavery  you  meet,  in  order  to  be  loyal  to  your  commis- 
sion, to  the  President  and  the  proclamation,  you  must 
utterly  refuse  to  recognize  any  man  as  a  slave.  Even 
though  the  colored  man  himself  insists  that  he  is  a  slave, 
that  he  was  born  a  slave,  that  his  father  and  mother  are 
both  slaves,  you  must  be  loyal  to  the  gospel  you  were 
commissioned  to  preach ;  you  must  persistently  deny  that 
the  man  is  a  slave,  and  as  persistently  tell  him  that  he  is 
a  free  man.  You  must  show  him  the  proclamation  and 
tell  him  that  by  that  proclamation  he  is  now  a  free  man 


16  DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH 

regardless  of  his  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  such  a  procla- 
mation, only  greater  liberty  is  granted  in  the  Gospel,  and 
there  is  greater  power  behind  its  proclamation. 

The  Apostle  Paul  was  so  enthusiastic  in  proclaiming 
this  Gospel  of  liberty  that  his  enemies  declared  he  was 
insane.  But  he  explains  his  enthusiasm  thus: 

"For  whether  we  are  beside  ourselves,  it  is  unto  God ; 
or  whether  we  are  of  sober  mind,  it  is  unto  you.  For  the 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  us;  because  we  thus  judge, 
that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died."  2  Cor.  5:13,  14, 
R.  V. 

But  what  is  there  in  this  that  creates  enthusiasm? 

Everything !  It  contains  the  truth  that  emancipated  a 
world  of  slaves.  It  is  sin  that  works  death,  that  enslaves 
men.  "Whosoever  committeth  sin  is  the  slave  of  sin."' 
John  8 :  34.  Consequently  all  were  enslaved.  "We  have 
before  proved  both  Jew  and  Gentile  that  they  are  all 
under  sin."  Rom.  3:9.  "But  the  Scripture  hath  con- 
cluded all  under  sin."  Gal.  3 :  22.  "For  all  have  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  Rom.  3 :  23. 

Because  all  the  world  had  sinned,  all  the  world  must 
die.  "For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death."  Rom.  6:  23.  "By 
one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin; 
and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
sinned."  Rom.  5  :12.  "Sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth 
forth  death."  James  1:15. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  plain  that  the  Father,  in  send- 
ing His  Son  "to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world"  (1  John 
4:14),  sent  Him  to  save  a  world  of  slaves,  whose  doom 
was  death,  and  who  were  awaiting  the  day  of  execution. 
Would  there  not  be  joy  in  a  city  whose  citizens  were  con- 
demned to  die,  and  who  were  being  marched  to  the  place 
of  execution,  weeping  and  moaning  in  hopeless  despair, 
if  a  herald  should  suddenly  appear  with  pardon  for  all? 


DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH  17 

The  reason  men  and  women  are  not  more  enthusiastic 
over  the  Gospel  is  because  they  have  never  realized  the 
hopeless  death  from  which  the  Gospel  saves  them. 

Consider  again  the  world  of  slaves  awaiting  execu- 
tion. Instead  of  carrying  out  the  death  sentence  and  put- 
ting the  world  to  death,  God  placed  the  world's  transgres- 
sions on  His  Son,  and  His  Son  died  in  the  place  of  the 
world.  He  gladly  took  the  world's  sins  and  willingly 
died,  ''that  the  world  through  Him  might  be  saved."  John 
3:17.  Here  is  the  proof  that  all  this  has  been  done, — 
proof  taken  from  the  proclamation  of  liberty: 

"Who  gave  Himself  for  our  sins."  Gal.  1 : 4.  "He 
hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin ;  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him." 
2  Cor.  5 : 21.  "Who  His  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  His 
own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to  sin,  should 
live  unto  righteousness ;  by  whose  stripes  ye  are  healed." 
1  Peter  2:24. 

And  now  in  order  that  all  may  realize  that  Christ  bore 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  notice  these  scriptures : 

"He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins :  and  not  for  ours 
only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  1  John  2 :2. 
"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world."  John  1 :  29.  "God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling 
the  world  unto  Himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses 
unto  them."  1  Cor.  5  :  19.  "We  see  Jesus,  who  was  made 
a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death, 
.  .  .  that  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for 
every  man."  Heb.  2 :  9. 

And  now  since  God  imputed  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world  to  His  Son,  and  His  Son  bore  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree;  and  since  He  died 
as  a  substitute  for  the  whole  sinning  world,  it  follows 
that  when  Christ  died,  the  whole  sinning  world  died.  And 
this  is  what  made  the  Apostle  Paul  so  enthusiastic  in 


18  DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH 

preaching  the  Gospel,  and  this  is  what  he  meant  when  he 
said:  "The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  because  we 
thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  aM  died." 
1  Cor.  5 : 21,  R.  V. 

Now  appears  the  cause  for  the  great  rejoicing.  Since 
all  the  world  has  died,  aU  the  world  is  freed  from  sin. 
"For  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin."  Rom.  6 :  7. 

Reader,  does  this  paragraph  from  the  emancipation 
proclamation  make  you  glad?  That  we  may  appreciate 
this  triumphant  truth  in  greater  fullness,  let  us  go  to 
Calvary. 

Who  is  that  man  staggering  beneath  that  heavy  cross  ? 
He  is  the  Christ,  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father. 

Little  does  He  look  like  the  Son  of  God,  His  face  is 
so  marred.  He  looks  more  like  a  sin-burdened,  grief- 
stricken,  sorrowing  son  of  man. 

And  this  He  is.  He  is  wounded  for  our  transgres- 
sions, He  is  bruised  for  our  iniquities.  His  Father  has 
laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  And  not  ours  only, 
but  the  iniquities  of  the  whole  world. 

Is  He,  therefore,  the  substitute  for  the  whole  sinning 
world  ? 

Yes,  God  is  dealing  with  Him  not  as  a  sinless  Son, 
but  as  a  substitute  for  a  whole  sinning  world.  Let  us 
linger  here  and  watch  this  terrible  transaction.  Now  they 
have  spiked  Him  to  the  cross,  the  whole  world  is  being 
crucified.  Listen : 

"My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  " 

Why  has  God  forsaken  Him?  Why  has  His  Father 
turned  His  face  from  Him  in  this  awful  hour? 

Because  He  is  cursed  with  the  sins  of  an  accursed 
world,  and  God  cannot  look  with  favor  on  the  sins  of  the 
world. 

Darkness  gathers,  God  seems  angry.    O  how  terrible 


DELIVERANCE  THROUGH  DEATH  19 

sin  must  be!  He  is  dying,  the  whole  world  is  dying. 
Listen : 

"It  is  finished." 

The  whole  world  is  dead ;  One  died  for  all,  therefore 
all  died. 

"He  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin."  The  whole  world, 
having  died,  is  freed  from  sin. 

This  is  the  Gospel.  This  is  the  glad  tidings  that  is 
proclaimed  in  God's  Emancipation  Proclamation.  It  is 
with  this  truth  that  men  pass  to  Pentecost  for  power  to 
proclaim  liberty. 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me ;  because  the 
Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the 
meek;  ...  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives."  Isa. 
61:1. 


Ill 

"LIBERTY  THROUGH  LIFE" 

Let  us  wait  here.    There  is  more  to  see. 

How  changed  everything  appears.  The  darkness  is 
gone.  The  shuddering  earth  is  still.  How  brightly  the 
sun  shines.  God's  anger  is  past.  Let  us  follow  that  life- 
less form.  It  is  still  the  whole  world. 

But  is  not  the  whole  world  now  free? 

Yes,  but  it  is  a  freedom  found  only  through  death. 

Is  there  a  future  life  for  the  world? 

The  Father  has  claimed  the  body  of  His  Son!  It  is 
rescued  from  the  enemy.  It  is  in  the  hands  of  God's 
friends.  God  loves  His  lifeless  Son.  He  is  no  longer 
regarded  as  the  sinner;  "for  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from 
sin." 

The  punishment  is  past,  the  penalty  has  been  paid. 
God  loves  the  lifeless  world.  Let  us  watch  by  the  tomb. 


20  "LIBERTY  THROUGH  LIFE" 

The  whole  world  is  buried  there.  The  infidels  of  the 
Roman  guard  keep  watch.  They  do  not  know  that  they 
are  standing  guard  at  the  tomb  of  a  buried  world. 

Yes,  there  is  life  for  the  world!  God's  messengers 
of  life  stand  at  the  tomb.  The  earth  trembles.  The  stone 
is  rolled  away — the  Redeemer  is  risen!  God  has  given 
life  to  the  whole  world! 

"For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us;  because  we 
thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died:  and 
that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  not  hence- 
forth live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  who  died  for 
them  and  rose  again."  2  Cor.  5  :  14,  15.  "For  as  in  Adam 
all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  1  Cor. 
15:  22.  "Now  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  believe  we 
shall  also  live  with  Him.  Knowing  that  Christ  being 
raised  from  the  dead  dieth  no  more :  death  hath  no  more 
dominion  over  Him.  For  in  that  He  died,  He  died  unto 
sin  once:  but  in  that  He  liveth  He  liveth  unto  God. 
Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto 
sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  instruments  of  un- 
righteousness unto  sin;  but  yield  yourselves  unto  God, 
a?  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead."  Rom.  6 : 8-13. 

In  Jesus  Christ  the  whole  world  died  for  its  sins,  and 
then  in  Jesus  Christ  the  whole  world  arose  from  the  dead 
with  a  life  that  is  freed  from  sin.  This  is  the  good  news 
which  the  herald  of  the  cross  bears  to  the  world.  With 
this  emancipation  proclamation,  he  goes  forth  proclaim- 
ing liberty  to  all  the  world.  And  just  as  every  herald  of 
the  President's  proclamation  of  liberty  utterly  refused  to 
recognize  any  man  as  a  slave,  so  the  herald  of  the  Gospel 
must  utterly  refuse  to  recognize  any  man  as  a  slave  of 
sin.  He  must  proclaim  liberty  to  all  men,  tell  all  men  that 
they  are  free  notwithstanding  their  heredity  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude. 


'TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED"  21 


IV 


"  TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED  "  (Illustrated) 

Come  with  me  and  look  upon  a  scene  which  we  will 
locate  in  Mississippi.  A  former  slave,  who  was  emanci- 
pated from  slavery  by  the  proclamation,  has  been  ap- 
pointed to  proclaim  liberty  to  his  brethren.  A  former 
slave  is  chosen  because  in  announcing  the  gospel  of  lib- 
erty he  can  witness  to  the  power  of  the  proclamation, 
because  the  proclamation  which  he  bears  has  set  him  free. 
And  besides,  seeing  that  he  is  free,  and  that  he  is  a  par- 
taker of  the  same  flesh  and  blood  as  they,  and  was  once 
a  partaker  of  the  same  slavery,  but  now  free,  his  brethren 
will  the  more  easily  believe  his  message.  For  his  pro- 
tection, we  will  suppose  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  author  of  the  proclamation,  is  with  him.  The 
place  is  a  cotton  plantation,  and  a  cringing  colored  man 
lies  half  prostrate,  his  back  bare  and  bleeding,  with  a 
powerful  white  man  standing  over  him,  lash  in  hand. 

President  (addressing  his  colored  herald) — "Go;  take 
the  proclamation  and  tell  that  colored  man  he  is  free." 

Herald — "On  the  authority  of  this  proclamation  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  I  an- 
nounce to  you  that  you  are  a  free  man.  You  are  not  a 
slave!  You  are  a  free  man.  That  man  standing  over 
you  is  not  your  master." 

President — "Tell  him  he's  free.  Pay  no  heed  to  his 
doubts,  show  him  that  you  are  in  earnest.  Let  him  see 
that  you  believe  what  you  tell  him.  Show  him  the  procla- 
mation." 

Herald — "On  the  authority  of  this  proclamation  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  which  I  hold  in  my 


22  "TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED  " 

hand,  I  declare  to  you  that  you  are  a  free  man.    You  are 
no  man's  slave.    Arise  and  go  free." 

President — ."Read  the  proclamation  to  him,  then  bear 
your  testimony.  Tell  him  that  you  were  once  a  slave,  and 
that  it  was  this  same  proclamation  that  set  you  free.  Tell 
him  of  the  freedom  you  now  enjoy." 

Herald — "Hear  this  proclamation  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States": 

"  'Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States  in  the  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion 
against  the  authority  and  government  of  the  United 
States,  ...  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
.  .  .  do  ordain  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as 
slaves  within  said  designated  States,  and  parts  of 
States,  are,  and  henceforward  shall  be  free;  and  that  the 
executive  government  of  the  United  States,  including 
the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize 
and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons.' 

"These  are  the  words  of  the  proclamation,  and  they 
declare  that  you  are  a  free  man.  I  bear  witness  that  they 
are  true.  Once  I  was  a  slave.  My  back  bears  witness  to 
many  a  beating,  but  this  proclamation  set  me  free.  I  am 
now  a  free  man.  O  my  brother,  I  bring  you  tidings  of 
great  joy.  Believe  the  proclamation,  believe  my  witness 
tc  its  power.  You  are  a  free  man!" 

Prostrate  Man — "Why  mock  me?  I  am  not  a  free 
man.  I  am  this  man's  slave.  My  father  is  a  slave  and 
my  mother  is  a  slave,  and  I  was  born  a  slave.  Can't  you 
see  this  man  with  the  lash  ?  I  was  born  in  his  house.  He 
owns  me.  He  bought  my  father  and  mother  and  he  says 
I  belong  to  him  the  same  as  that  mule  at  the  plow." 

President — "Pay  no  attention  to  his  unbelief.     Go 


'TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED 


23 


-+ 
w'wvx' 


-4- 


+ 


«v/  i*, 


Emancipation  Proclamation.    Photo-reproduction,  reduced. 


24  "TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED" 

close  to  him.  Take  him  by  the  hand.  Fear  not,  I  am 
with  you.  Tell  him  he  is  free.  Show  him  you  are  free. 
Let  him  see  that  you  are  not  afraid  of  the  lash." 

Herald — "I  insist  that  you  are  a  free  man.  This  proc- 
lamation, which  has  all  the  power  of  the  United  States 
Government  behind  it,  declares  that  you  are  a  free  man. 
And  I,  a  freed  man,  once  a  slave,  bear  witness  that  there 
is  power  in  this  proclamation  to  set  men  free  and  to  keep 
them  free.  And  what  is  more,  this  man  with  the  lash 
knows  you  are  free.  He  knows  the  power  of  the  author 
of  this  proclamation.  He  knows  you  are  free,  and  he 
only  fears  that  you  will  believe  the  proclamation  and  go 
free." 

Prostrate  Man — "But  I  have  tried  many  times  to  get 
free.  Over  and  over  again  have  I  tried  to  escape,  only  to 
be  followed  and  found  by  those  keen-scented  blood- 
hounds. This  bleeding  back  is  the  result  of  my  last  hope- 
less effort  to  be  free.  I  had  decided  never  to  try  again, 
to  live  as  I  was  born,  a  slave,  and  die  as  I  have  lived,  a 
beast  of  burden.  If  I  believe  this  proclamation,  if  I  be- 
lieve what  you  tell  me,  if  I  assert  my  liberty,  if  I  arise 
and  declare  myself  a  free  man,  will  you  protect  me,  will 
you  defend  me  against  this  man,  will  you  save  me  from 
the  hounds?" 

President — "Tell  him  that  all  power  in  the  army  and 
navy  is  pledged  to  sustain  that  proclamation.  The  very 
existence  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  is  at 
stake  in  maintaining  his  freedom.  The  government  has 
declared  him  free,  and  it  must  see  that  he  is  free,  when 
he  seeks  its  protection,  or  it  must  fall." 

Herald — "These  are  the  words  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  Arise,  stand  on  your  feet  like  a  man. 
And  now  go  to  your  brethren,  tell  them  the  liberty  which 
you  now  enjoy." 


"TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED"  25 

Reader,  would  it  not  be  disloyal  to  the  power  behind 
the  proclamation  to  admit  for  a  moment  that  the  colored 
man  is  still  a  slave?  To  admit  that  he  is  a  slave  is  to 
contradict  the  proclamation,  to  question  its  power,  and 
uphold  the  slave-master. 


"TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREE"  (Applied) 

Now  let  us  shift  the  illustration  to  the  man,  who,  for 
thirty  years,  has  been  a  slave  to  drink.  His  tyrant  mas- 
ter stands  over  him  with  the  lash  that  has  so  long  com- 
pelled submission.  A  snap  of  the  finger,  a  crack  of  the 
whip,  a  command  from  his  imperious  majesty,  King  Al- 
cohol, and  the  unwilling  man  obeys.  That  which  was 
created  in  the  image  of  God,  cringes  and  crawls  like  a 
soulless  cur. 

A  herald  of  the  King  of  Kings  comes  to  him  carry- 
ing a  proclamation  of  liberty  which  proclaims  him  free 
from  his  beastly  bondage.  This  herald  himself  was  once 
a  slave.  Once  he,  too,  cringed  and  cowed  before  the 
tyrant  king.  Once  he  crouched  at  the  crack  of  the  whip 
but  now  he  is  free. 

King  of  Kings — "Proclaim  liberty  to  that  man.  Take 
this  proclamation  and  tell  him  he  is  free.  All  he  needs 
to  do  is  to  believe  the  proclamation  in  order  to  realize  the 
freedom  that  is  his  in  the  proclamation." 

Herald — "On  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
King  of  Kings,  I  announce  to  you  that  you  are  a  freed 
man.  You  are  not  a  slave.  You  are  a  freed  man.  That 
tyrant  standing  over  you  is  not  your  master." 

King  of  Kings — "Tell  him  he  has  been  set  free.  Pay 
no  heed  to  his  doubts.  Show  him  that  you  are  in  earnest. 


26  "TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREE" 

Let  him  see  that  "you  believe  what  you  tell  him.  Show 
him  the  proclamation." 

Herald — "On  the  authority  of  this  proclamation  from 
the  King  of  Kings,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  I  declare  to 
you  that  you  are  a  freed  man.  You  need  never  drink  an- 
other drop  of  poison.  Arise  and  go  free." 

King  of  Kings — "Read  the  proclamation  to  him  and 
then  bear  your  testimony.  Tell  him  you  were  once  a  slave 
to  the  same  tyrant.  Tell  him  it  was  the  same  proclama- 
tion that  set  you  free.  Tell  him  of  the  freedom  you  now 
enjoy." 

Herjxld — "These  are  the  words  of  the  proclamation, 
and  they  declare  that  you  are  a  freed  man.  And  I  bear 
witness  that  they  are  true.  Once  I  was  a  slave,  but  this 
proclamation  set  me  free.  Now  I  am  a  free  man.  O  my 
brother,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy.  Believe 
the  proclamation!  Believe  my  testimony  to  its  power! 
You  are  a  freed  man." 

Old  Drunkard — "Why  mock  me!  I  am  not  a  free 
man!  I  am  the  slave  to  drink;  my  father  was  a  slave  to 
drink,  and  so  was  my  mother,  and  I  was  born  a  slave. 
Can  you  not  see  that  I  am  a  slave  ?  I  was  born  in  a  public 
house,  I  was  born  to  do  evil  as  the  sparks  to  fly  upward. 
I  was  shapen  in  iniquity  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  con- 
ceive me.  I  am  the  bondservant  of  a  depraved  appetite." 

King  of  Kings — "Pay  no  attention  to  his  unbelief.  Go 
close  to  him ;  take  him  by  the  hand.  Fear  not,  I  am  with 
you.  Tell  him  he  is  set  free.  Let  him  see  that  you  are 
not  afraid  of  King  Alcohol." 

Herald — "I  insist  that  you  are  a  freed  man.  This 
proclamation  which  has  all  the  power  in  heaven  and  earth 
behind  it,  declares  that  you  are  a  free  man.  And  I,  a 
free  man,  once  a  slave,  bear  witness  that  there  is  power 
in  the  proclamation  to  set  you  free  and  keep  you  free. 
And  what  is  more,  that  tyrant  knows  you  are  set  free. 


"TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREE"  27 

He  knows  the  power  of  the  author  of  the  proclamation. 
He  cringes  before  it.  He  knows  that  you  are  freed,  and 
he  only  fears  that  you  will  believe  the  proclamation  and 
experience  the  freedom  that  is  already  yours  in  the  proc- 
lamation." 

Old  Drunkard — "But  I  have  tried  a  hundred  times 
to  be  free.  Over  and  over  again  I  have  tried  to  escape 
from  my  slavery,  only  to  be  followed  and  captured  by 
the  tireless  hounds  of  a  depraved  appetite.  And  my 
hopeless  heart  and  condemned  conscience  is  the  fruit  of 
my  last  failure.  I  had  decided  never  to  try  again,  to  live 
as  I  was  born,  a  slave,  and  to  die  as  I  have  lived,  a 
brutish  man.  But  if  I  believe  this  proclamation,  if  I  be- 
lieve what  you  tell  me,  if  I  assert  my  freedom  from  my 
lifelong  enemy,  if  I  arise  and  declare  myself  a  free  man, 
will  this  proclamation  protect  me?  Will  it  defend  me 
against  the  demon  hounds  of  a  depraved  appetite?  How 
much  power  is  there  behind  that  proclamation?" 

King  of  Kings — "Tell  him  all  power  in  heaven  and 
in  earth  is  behind  that  proclamation.  Tell  him  I  will 
marshall  the  armies  of  heaven  to  defend  him  and  dem- 
onstrate the  power  of  the  proclamation.  My  throne  is 
at  stake  in  that  proclamation.  I  have  declared  him  a 
freed  man  and  I  must  see  that  he  is  kept  free  when  he 
accepts  his  freedom,  or  I  cease  to  be  the  King  of  Kings." 

Herald — "These  are  the  words  of  the  King  of  Kings. 
Arise!  You  are  a  freed  man!  for  whom  the  Son  makes 
free  is  free  indeed.  Now  go  to  your  house  and  declare 
what  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  you." 

A  CONFIRMING  EXPERIENCE 

May  the  Lord  use  this  letter  for  the  encouragement 
of  those  who  are  seeking  to  liberate  slaves  through  the 
name  that  is  above  every  name,  the  name  of  Jesus. 

As  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  I  have  had  special 


28  "TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREE" 

attention  paid  me  by  God's  and  man's  fearful  enemy, 
Satan,  who  has  sought  to  work  my  ruin,  and  how  nearly 
he  accomplished  it  God  only  knows. 

I  was  like  one  possessed  of  the  devil.  I  cursed  and 
swore  and  used  the  most  filthy  language  a  man  was  ever 
heard  to  use.  Every  time  I  came  into  the  house  I  found 
fault  with  my  wife,  with  the  children,  and  with  the  food. 
As  soon  as  my  children  heard  my  footsteps  or  my  voice, 
the  baby  boy  would  crawl  as  fast  as  he  could  go  and 
clutch  his  mother's  skirts,  out  of  my  way ;  and  the  other 
little  one  would  be  afraid  to  move. 

O  that  terrible  time !  I  would  never  have  written  this 
letter  and  shown  myself  up  in  this  way  if  it  were  not  to 
glorify  my  Saviour,  Jesus,  and  help  some  poor  slave  who 
has  given  up  in  despair,  who  may  think  that  you  are  tell- 
ing him  there  is  deliverance,  only  to  mock  him.  It  is  no 
mockery,  no  idle  tale.  It  is  the  living  truth  that  there  is 
deliverance  from  all  sin,  whether  inherited  or  cultivated, 
and  the  Deliverer  is  this  same  Jesus.  Only  believe  in 
Him,  only  believe  He  has  delivered  you,  and  no  power 
on  earth  can  enslave  you.  Satan  cannot  crack  his  whip 
and  say,  "Do  this  or  do  that,  you  slave!"  But  mention 
the  name  of  Jesus  and  he  will  flee. 

My  poor  wife  and  poor  children  have  been  beaten 
about  time  and  time  again.  I  have  struggled  with  the 
wife  to  get  hold  of  the  boy  to  beat  him  in  my  fury,  and 
have  so  disfigured  my  wife's  face  that  she  has  not  been 
able  to  go  out.  Once  in  the  dark,  after  we  had  gone  to 
bed,  I  started  to  beat  the  boy,  and  gave  my  wife  a  swing- 
ing blow  which  nearly  broke  her  nose,  and  one  Sunday 
I  took  her  upstairs  to  throw  her  over  the  banisters  from 
the  landing,  but  one  of  my  neighbors  came  in  at  the 
time  and  that  stopped  me. 

Your  friends  may  think  that  I  have  greatly  colored 
this  testimony.  I  wish  it  were  possible  to  write  a  truth- 


"TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREE"  29 

ful  account  not  so  bad  as  this,  but  I  have  not  told  a  tithe 
of  the  wickedness  I  have  been  guilty  of,  and  no  human 
being  will  ever  know — only  God  knows.  There  is  no  sin 
thai  man  could  accuse  me  of  that  I  am  not  guilty  of,  but 
thank  the  Lord,  "old  things  are  passed  away;  behold! 
all  things  are  become  new."  And  today  I  am  free  from 
all  those  things  and  many  more  that  I  have  not  men- 
tioned, for  "whom  the  Son  makes  free  is  free  indeed." 

If  anyone  doubts  my  word  as  to  the  change  in  me,  let 
him  write  my  wife,  who  will  be  only  too  glad  to  give  her 
testimony  to  the  change.  [A  letter  received  from  her 
some  six  months  after  the  above  was  received  bore  un- 
qualified and  joyful  witness  to  the  wonderful  change  that 
had  been  wrought  in  her  husband  as  described  in  this 
letter.— A.  F.  B.] 

Before  closing,  I  thank  the  Lord  for  what  he  has 
done  for  me,  and  for  the  deliverance  he  has  wrought  for 
this  poor  man,  once  a  slave  to  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the 
lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life,  but  now  seated  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus,  clothed  in  God's  right- 
eousness and  in  his  right  mind,  the  mind  of  Christ. 

Now,  instead  of  being  domineered  over  by  sin  and 
Satan,  I  have  dominion  over  them  in  Christ.  I  bless  the 
Lord  for  the  wonderful  deliverance  he  has  wrought,  dear 
Brother  Ballenger,  through  your  instrumentality.  I  hope 
to  spend  eternity  with  you.  May  you  be  used  of  the 
Lord  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  may  you 
have  great  joy  in  seeing  thousands  of  slaves  assert  their 
freedom. 

I  am  glad  you  submitted  yourself  to  the  Lord  and 
were  victorious  over  sin,  for  if  you  had  not  been,  you 
could  not  have  been  able  to  give  me  the  help  that  I  so 
badly  needed,  and  which  if  it  had  not  come  when  it  did, 
would  have  been,  I  fear,  too  late.  You  are  quite  at  lib- 
erty to  use  this  letter  in  helping  someone  else. 


30  "TELL  HIM  HE  IS  FREED'3 

ANOTHER  WITNESS 

I  have  a  testimony  to  give  to  the  keeping  power  of 
God,  through  Christ  Jesus.  Since  Wednesday,  October 
16,  1901,  I  have  had  no  desire  to  practice  the  sin  which 
had  so  easily  beset  me  for  over  thirty  years.  I  can  say, 
to  the  glory  of  God,  that  from  that  time  to  the  present 
I  have  not  had  the  slightest  desire  to  partake  of  strong 
drink. 

Of  all  the  Scriptures  which  you  were  favored  to  ex- 
pound, the  following  made  the  most  impression:  "For 
the  death  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once;  but  the 
life  that  he  liveth  he  liveth  unto  God.  Even  so  reckon 
ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  in  Christ  Jesus."  Rom.  6: 10,  11.  (R.  V.) 

The  little  word  "in"  means  very  much.  Belief  in 
Christ  unites  to  Christ,  and  the  freedom  from  sin  which 
belongs  to  Him  belongs  to  us.  I  am  growing  in  the  real- 
ization that  God  in  Christ  is  all  sufficient  for  all  things, 
and  at  all  times.  We  are  not  told  to  feel  ourselves  dead 
unto  sin,  but  to  reckon  as  God  reckons.  Sin  is  dead  to 
Christ  and  should  be  to  every  believer. 

You  may  tell  the  vilest  sinner  on  earth  that  there  is 
deliverance  in  Christ  the  moment  he  believes. 


VI 
"WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH" 

The  burden  of  this  book  is  to  reveal  to  the  sinner  his 
standing  before  God  and  the  law  as  it  really  is  from 
God's  standpoint,  for  God  looks  upon  the  sinner  not 
through  the  sinning  and  enslavement  of  the  "first  man" 
— Adam — but  through  the  righteousness  and  emancipa- 
tion of  the  "last  Adam"— Christ. 


"WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH "         31 

The  Apostle  Paul  refused  to  recognize  any  man  as 
a  slave  of  sin.  This  is  what  he  meant  when  he  wrote: 
"Henceforth  know  we  no  man  after  the  flesh."  2  Cor. 
5 :  16.  And  this  he  wrote  as  the  conclusion  of  his  argu- 
ment proving  that  Christ  died  for  the  whole  world,  and 
arose  from  the  dead  for  the  whole  world. 

Notice  the  argument  again: 

For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  because  we 
thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died:  and 
he  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  no  longer  live 
unto  themselves  but  unto  Him  who  for  their  sakes  died 
and  rose  again.  Wherefore  we  henceforth  know  no  man 
after  the  flesh ;  even  though  we  have  known  Christ  after 
the  flesh,  yet  now  we  know  him  so  no  more.  2  Cor. 
5:14-16.  (R.  V.) 

What  is  it  to  know  a  man  after  the  flesh? 

To  know  Christ  after  the  flesh,  was  to  know  Him 
burdened  with  the  accursed  human  nature  of  a  race  of 
slaves.  It  is  to  know  Him  as  the  bearer  of  the  sins  of 
the  world.  It  is  to  know  Him  "made  of  a  woman,  made 
under  the  law."  It  is  to  know  Him  without  knowing 
that  He  died  and  that  He  arose  from  the  dead.  But  in- 
asmuch as  we  know  that  He  died  and  rose  again,  we 
know  Him  now  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and  death 
— "knowing  that  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth 
no  more.  Death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  Him.  For 
in  that  He  dieth,  He  died  unto  sin  once;  but  in  that  He 
liveth,  He  liveth  unto  God.  Likewise  reckon  ye  also 
yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Rom.  6:9-11. 

"Henceforth,  know  we  no  man  after  the  flesh." 

What  was  it  to  know  a  colored  man  after  the  flesh — 
before  the  proclamation  of  liberty?  It  was  to  know  him 
as  a  slave.  What  is  it  to  know  a  man  after  the  flesh 
without  knowing  of  the  death,  and  resurrection  of  Christ  ? 


32         "WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH ' 

It  is  to  know  him  as  a  hopeless  slave  to  sin.  Does  not 
this  ignore  plain  facts?  How  can  you  say  to  the  old 
slave,  on  whose  mind  and  heart  the  demon  Drink  has 
been  forging  its  fetters  for  many  years,  "You  are  a  free 
man,"  when  he  is  so  manifestly  a  slave? 

It  is  not  denied  for  a  moment  that  man,  in  himself 
considered,  is  a  slave  of  sin,  for  "Whosoever  committeth 
sin  is  a  slave  of  sin."  John  8 :  34.  This  is  an  effort  to 
get  man  to  see  his  standing  in  Christ,  who  was  delivered 
for  our  offenses,  and  raised  again  for  our  justification; 
and  who,  as  our  forerunner,  entered  within  the  veil  and 
sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God  after  he  had  offered 
one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever. 

This  is  the  standpoint  from  which  Paul  viewed  the 
world,  and  it  was  this  glorious  gospel  of  salvation  ac- 
complished in  Christ  which  made  of  Paul  the  most  en- 
thusiastic preacher  of  abounding  grace  since  the  great 
Teacher  returned  to  His  Father's  throne. 

After  the  apostle  said,  "For  the  love  of  Christ  con 
straineth  us,  because  we  thus  judge,  that  one  died  for 
all,  therefore  all  died,"  he  says:  "Wherefore,  we  hence- 
forth know  no  man  after  the  flesh."    2  Cor.  5 : 14-16. 
(R.  V.) 

To  know  a  man  after  the  flesh  is  to  know  him  born 
a  slave  of  sin  and  death,  in  Adam.  But  to  know  a  man 
as  God  knows  him  in  Christ,  is  to  know  him  as  belonging 
to  a  new  creation — saved,  ransomed,  "reconciled  to  God 
by  the  death  of  His  Son." 

Often  have  I  looked  upon  the  thousands  that  throng 
the  streets  of  our  great  cities,  and  said  to  myself,  "1 
know  no  man  'after  the  flesh.'  I  know  all  these  men  and 
women  through  the  reconciling  blood  of  the  cross.  I 
know  them  as  'reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His 
Son.'  And  O  how  I  wish  they  would  listen  while  I 


"WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH"         33 

tell  them  the  gospel  story,  and  beseech  them,  'In  Christ's 
stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.' " 

When  the  sinner  comes  to  believe  that  he  is  redeemed 
from  the  curse  of  the  law  because  Christ  bore  his  curse 
for  him  on  the  tree — when  he  comes  to  feel  and  act  and 
look  like  a  redeemed  man,  that  feeling  and  acting  has 
not  changed  God's  feelings  toward  him;  his  faith  has 
changed  his  feelings  toward  God. 

The  shepherd's  feelings  toward  the  lost  sheep,  as  he 
hunts  through  "the  mountains,  thunder-riven,"  are  not 
changed  toward  the  lost  sheep  when  he  finds  him.  His 
feelings  of  sorrow  are  changed  into  rejoicing,  but  his 
love  for  the  sheep  is  not  changed. 

Heaven's  love  for  lost  sinners  is  not  changed  when 
one  sinner  is  found.  Heaven's  sorrow  for  that  sinner  is 
changed  into  rejoicing,  but  heaven's  love  is  unchanged. 
"I  say  unto  you,  that  even  so  there  shall  be  joy  in  Heaven 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety 
and  nine  righteous  persons  which  need  no  repentance." 
Luke  15:7.  (R.  V.) 

The  father's  love  for  his  prodigal  son  did  not  change 
v/hen  the  boy  left  home,  nor  when  he  started  to  return. 
There  was  a  change  in  the  father  when  the  boy  returned, 
but  it  was  a  change  from  sorrow  to  rejoicing. 

If  the  father's  love  for  his  son  depended  on  the  son's 
commandment-keeping,  then  his  love  would  have  changed 
when  the  boy  left  home,  and  again  when  he  returned. 

The  elder  son  thought  that  parental  love  ought  to  de- 
pend on  commandment-keeping,  and  hence  he  protested 
against  the  love  shown  his  prodigal  brother.  He  said 
to  his  father  in  his  protest  against  the  joyous  music  and 
dancing  and  the  killing  of  the  fatted  calf  at  his  lawless 
brother's  return:  "Lo!  these  many  years  do  I  serve 
thee;  neither  transgressed  I  at  any  time  thy  command- 
ment ;  and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a  kid,  that  I  might 


34        "WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH  " 

make  merry  with  my  friends:  but  as  soon  as  this  thy 
son  was  come,  which  hath  devoured  thy  living  with  har- 
lots, thou  hast  killed  for  him  the  fatted  calf."  Luke 
15:29. 

This  elder  brother  was  a  stranger  to  love,  and  to  the 
gracious  gifts  which  that  love  gives  to  undeserving  trans- 
gressors. He  typified  the  poor,  ignorant,  loveless,  grace- 
less, legal,  self-righteous  Pharisees  who  were  going 
about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  and  were  not 
submitting  to  the  righteousness  of  God  which  is  the  free 
gift  of  His  grace  to  all  men.  And  the  theological  de- 
scendants of  this  same  elder  brother  will  condemn  as 
heretical  the  gracious  truths  of  this  book.  But  I  would 
infinitely  rather  be  a  home-coming,  humble,  loving,  ap- 
preciative, prodigal  son  than  a  hard-hearted,  self-right- 
eous, legal,  loveless  elder  brother  who  is  blind  to  this 
glorious  truth.  "Who  hath  saved  us,  and  called  us  with 
an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our  works,  but  accord- 
ing to  his  own  purpose  and  grace  [unmerited  favor] 
which  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world 
began."  2  Tim.  1 :  9. 

The  fact  that  the  unbelieving  sinner  does  not  feel 
saved,  or  act  saved,  does  not  change  the  fact  that  the 
Lord  "hath  saved"  him  according  to  His  own  purpose 
and  grace  [not  according  to  his  works]  which  was  given 
us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world  began." 

When  the  sinner  shall  come  to  believe  that  the  Lord 
saved  him  according  to  His  own  purpose,  and  not  ac- 
cording to  the  sinner's  purpose,  "according  to  His  own 
grace"  and  "not  according  to  our  works,"  when  the  sin- 
ner shall  come  to  believe  that  he  was  thus  saved  by 
the  purpose  of  God  which  He  purposed  "in  Christ  Jesus 
before  the  world  began" — when  the  sinner  shall  believe 
all  this,  his  faith  does  not  change  God's  gracious  atti- 
tude toward  him,  but  it  does  change  his  attitude  toward 


"WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH"         35 

God.  "But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great 
love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead 
in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ,  . 
For  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith;  and  that  not 
of  yourselves ;  it  is  the  gift  of  God :  not  of  works,  lest 
any  man  should  boast."  Eph.  2 :  4-9. 

Objector — But  how  can  you  say  he  is  free? 

Answer — Because  the  national  government,  speaking 
through  the  President,  says  he  is  free. 

Objector — But  the  man  is  ignorant  of  the  proclama- 
tion. 

Answer — Yes. 

Objector — He  believes  he  is  a  slave. 

Answer — Yes. 

Objector — And  he  looks  and  acts  like  a  slave. 

Answer — Yes. 

Objector — Then  isn't  he  a  slave? 

Answer — But  the  President  says  he  is  free. 

Objector — But  how  can  he  be  a  freed  man  when  he 
looks  and  feels  and  acts  like  a  slave? 

Answer — But  has  the  President  lied  ?  He  says  by  the 
authority  of  the  national  government  that  the  man  is 
free.  And  moreover,  he  commands  the  army  and  navy 
to  recognize  that  the  man  is  free.  And  still  more,  he 
commands  the  army  and  navy  to  keep  the  man  free. 

Objector — But  I  cannot  see  how  he  can  be  called  free 
when  he  is  so  manifestly  a  slave. 

Answer — Prior  to  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
the  same  national  government  held  this  man  a  slave,  and 
held  the  man  who  owned  him  to  be  his  lawful  slave  mas- 
ter. If  the  colored  man  escaped  from  his  master  into 
a  so-called  free  state,  the  national  government  sent  him 
back  to  his  master.  And  if  necessary,  the  whole  power 
of  the  army  and  navy  would  be  used  to  accomplish  this. 

But  now  the  same  government  not  only  declares  him 


36         "WE  KNOW  NO  MAN  AFTER  THE  FLESH  " 

a  free  man,  and  his  former  master  not  his  master  at  all, 
but  it  will  now  use  the  same  army  and  navy  to  protect 
the  man  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  freedom.  Do  you  see 
that  the  standing  of  the  man  before  the  law  of  the  nation 
is  radically  reversed?  The  same  government  that  before 
accounted  him  a  slave,  and  the  man  who  owned  him,  his 
master,  and  used  its  power  to  keep  him  in  slavery,  now 
declares  him  a  free  man  and  pledges  its  power  to  keep 
him  free. 

It  matters  not  how  much  he  looks  like  a  slave,  or 
feels  like  a  slave,  or  acts  like  a  slave,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
power  that  once  enslaved  him  he  is  now  a  free  man. 
His  ignorance,  or  unbelief,  cannot  change  the  fact  that, 
whereas  once  the  government  counted  him  a  slave  and 
kept  him  in  slavery,  now  the  same  government  counts 
him  a  free  man  and  pledges  its  power  to  keep  him  free. 

Notice, — All  that  is  now  necessary  in  order  for  him 
to  look  and  feel  and  act  like  a  free  man  is  to  believe  he 
is  free,  and  believe  the  promise  of  the  government  to 
keep  him  free.  No  new  proclamation  is  needed  when  he 
believes  he  is  free.  His  belief  that  he  is  free  does  not 
change  the  government's  feelings  and  actions  toward 
him,  but  it  does  change  his  own  feelings  and  actions  to- 
ward the  government. 

In  like  manner,  the  fact  is,  that  "when  we  were 
enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His 
Son."  And  the  gloomy  fact  that  we  did  not  look  or  feel 
like  reconciled  men,  does  not  change  the  glorious  fact 
that  "when  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God 
by  the  death  of  His  Son." 

"Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us,"  when  he  hung  on  the  tree. 
And  the  sad  fact  that  the  sinner  still  feels  and  looks  and 
acts  like  one  cursed  by  the  law,  does  not  change  the 
fact  that  he  is  redeemed  from  the  curse  of  the  law. 


"MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY"  37 


VII 

"MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY" 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  made  no  bar- 
gain, no  covenant  with  its  four  millions  of  slaves  before 
declaring  them  free.  The  slaves  were  not  required  to 
make  any  promises  as  to  what  use  they  would  make  of 
their  liberty.  They  were  not  asked  to  pay  the  Govern- 
ment a  penny  for  their  freedom.  They  were  not  even 
asked  whether  they  would  accept  their  liberty  if  it  were 
given  them. 

The  Government  in  order  to  declare  its  own  right- 
eousness, and  purge  itself  from  the  reproach  of  slavery 
and  in  order  that  the  slaves  might  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
liberty,  freely,  set  them  free  without  any  promise  or  de- 
sire for  remuneration  from  the  freed  men.  Without 
reference  to  works  which  they  had  done,  or  works  which 
they  should  do,  they  were  proclaimed  free. 

They  were  given  their  liberty  as  freely  as  they  had 
been  given  their  slavery.  Not  one  of  the  four  millions  of 
slaves  had  ever  bargained  for  his  slavery.  It  was  given 
to  all  free.  Yes,  more:  it  was  forced  upon  them.  By 
their  very  birth  they  were  slaves.  Not  one  of  them  was 
consulted  as  to  whether  he  desired  to  be  born  a  slave. 
He  was  brought  into  the  world  a  slave  without  his  knowl- 
edge or  consent;  he  was  born  a  slave,  must  live  a  slave, 
and  die  a  slave. 

Consequently,  the  Government,  in  order  to  liberate  its 
slaves,  must  give  them  liberty  as  freely  as  they  had  been 
given  slavery.  If  they  refuse  to  be  free,  if  they  prefer 
to  continue  in  servitude  as  before,  the  Government  will 
not  force  them  to  accept  their  freedom.  But  it  did  de- 
clare them  free,  and  refused  to  recognize  any  man  as  a 


38  "MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY" 

slave  or  any  man  as  a  slave  master,  and  thus  threw  on 
the  freed  man  the  responsibility  of  any  future  bondage. 

This  illustrates  the  blessed  gospel  of  liberty  pro- 
claimed by  the  God  of  all  grace,  through  His  Son,  Jesus 
Christ.  It  shows  how  full  and  free  it  must  be  to  reach 
a  race  of  slaves  to  sin.  Not  one  member  of  the  human 
family  ever  bargained  for  his  birth  into  this  world  a 
slave  of  sin.  It  was  given  to  the  whole  race  as  a  free 
gift.  And  once  given,  there  was  no  possible  escape  from 
it.  No  efforts  of  his  own  could  free  him.  With  his  gift 
of  a  carnal  nature,  he  could  no  more  help  sinning  than 
the  thorn  tree  could  avoid  bearing  thorns.  He  could  no 
more  save  himself  from  sinning  than  the  slave  could  save 
himself  from  the  color  of  his  skin. 

And  God  knew  that.  "Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his 
skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots?  Then  may  ye  also  do 
good,  that  are  accustomed  to  do  evil."  Jer.  14:  23.  "For 
we  know  that  the  law  is  .spiritual :  but  I  am  carnal, 
sold  under  sin.  For  that  which  I  do  I  allow  not;  for 
what  I  would,  that  do  I  not;  for  what  I  hate,  that  do 
I."  "For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man:  but  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring 
against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  cap- 
tivity to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members.  O 
wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death?"  Rom.  7: 14,  15,  22,  23. 

A  carnal  nature,  which  cannot  but  sin,  was  given  to 
the  whole  human  race  through  Adam,  the  slave  of  sin. 
Having  become  a  sinner,  Adam  passed  on  to  his  posterity 
a  sinning  nature  whose  doom  is  death.  Consequently, 
when  God,  who  loved  the  world  even  while  they  were 
sinners,  undertook  "to  save  the  world,"  it  became  neces- 
sary for  him  to  make  the  gift  of  righteousness  and  life 
as  free  to  the  human  race  as  Adam's  gift  of  carnality 
and  death  had  been.  This  is  the  argument  of  the  Apostle 


"MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY"  30 

Paul  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Romans.  "Wherefore,  as 
by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by 
sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men  for  that  all  have 
sinned,  .  .  .  Therefore,  as  by  the  offence  of  one 
judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation ;  even  so 
by  the  righteousness  of  one,  the  free  gift  came  upon 
all  men  unto  justification  of  life.  For  as  by  one  man's 
disobedience,  the  many  (R.  V.)  were  made  sinners,  so 
by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  the  many  (R.  V.)  be  made 
righteous.  .  .  .  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound."  Rom.  5 :  12,  18,  19,  20. 

Seeing  that  sin  abounded  to  the  whole  race,  so  grace, 
or  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  abounded  to  the  whole  race. 
And  just  as  the  government  of  the  United  States  did  not 
covenant  with  the  slaves  before  setting  them  free,  so  the 
government  of  the  universe  did  not  covenant  or  bargain 
with  the  slaves  of  sin  before  setting  them  free.  We  were 
not  asked  to  make  any  promises ;  we  were  not  even  asked 
whether  we  would  accept  the  pardon  if  it  were  pro- 
claimed; we  were  not  asked  to  pay  for  the  pardon;  we 
were  forgiven  without  being  asked  to  pay  for  the  for- 
giveness, either  by  good  works  which  we  had  done  or 
good  works  which  we  would  do.  Surely,  we  did  not  pay 
for  our  pardon;  for  we  were  pardoned  "when  we  were 
yet  without  strength,"  while  we  were  still  "ungodly," 
"dead  in  sins."  "For  when  we  were  yet  without  strength 
in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly.  .  .  .  God 
commended  his  love  toward  us  in  that  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more  then  being 
now  justified  by  His  blood  we  shall  be  saved  from  wrath 
through  Him.  For  if,  when  we  were  sinners,  we  were 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son,  much  more, 
being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  His  life."  Rom. 
5 :  6,  8,  9,  10. 

"And  you  hath  He  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  tres- 


40  "MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY" 

passes  and  sins ;  wherein  in  times  past  ye  walked  accord- 
ing to  the  course  of  this  world,  according  to  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the 
children  of  disobedience:  among  whom  also  we  all  had 
our  conversation  in  times  past  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh, 
fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind;  and 
were  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others. 
But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love  where- 
with He  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath 
quickened  us  together  with  Christ  (by  grace  ye  are  saved) 
and  hath  raised  us  up  together  and  made  us  sit  together 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  in  the  ages  to 
come  He  might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace 
in  his  kindness  toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus.  For 
by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith ;  and  that  not  of 
yourselves ;  it  is  the  gift  of  God :  not  of  works,  lest  any 
man  should  boast."  Eph.  2 : 1-9. 

After  the  Government  of  the  United  States  had  set 
free  its  four  millions  of  slaves,  it  was  then  too  late  for 
them  to  earn  their  freedom  by  working  for  it,  even  if  it 
had  been  possible,  which  of  course  it  was  not.  It  was 
even  too  late  to  promise  to  pay  for  their  freedom  by 
their  good  works  which  they  might  do  after  they  were 
set  free. 

Having  been  proclaimed  free  without  any  promise 
being  made,  all  that  is  left  for  them  to  do  is  to  accept 
their  freedom  and  rejoice  in  it.  So  it  is  with  the  race  of 
slaves  known  as  the  human  race.  It  is  impossible  that 
salvation  should  be  by  works  which  we  had  done  or 
should  do,  simply  because  the  Lord  did  the  work  Himself 
without  consulting  the  sinning  world,  and  then  after  He 
had  accomplished  it,  He  sent  heralds  to  tell  the  good  news 
to  all  the  world.  "Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which 
we  have  done,  but  according  to  His  mercy  He  saved  us." 
Titus  3 :  5. 


"MADE  FREE  WITHOUT  MONEY"  41 

"All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to 
Himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  minis- 
try of  reconciliation ;  to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ,  rec- 
onciling the  world  unto  Himself,  not  imputing  their  tres- 
passes unto  them,  and  hath  committed  unto  us  the  word 
of  reconciliation.  Now  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ, 
as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us,  we  pray  you,  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.  For  He  hath 
made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  2  Cor. 
5:18-21. 

And  just  as  the  herald  of  liberty  to  the  American 
slaves  would  say,  "You  are  made  free ;  accept  your  free- 
dom and  be  free";  so  the  herald  of  the  gospel  today 
says  to  the  world,  "You  are  reconciled  to  God;  your 
sins  were  long  ago  placed  upon  the  sin-bearer,  and  borne 
for  you;  you  are  free.  Now  be  ye  reconciled,  and  re- 
ceive your  freedom  and  go  free." 

Now  God  says  that  He  did  all  this,  first  because  He 
loved  us;  and  second,  "that  in  ages  to  come  He  might 
show  [exhibit]  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  in  His 
kindness  toward  us,  through  Christ  Jesus."  Eph.  2 :  7. 

God  is  on  trial  before  the  whole  universe.  His  deal- 
ings with  sinful  man  are  being  watched,  and  there  must 
not  be  a  shadow  of  injustice  found  in  any  of  His  deal- 
ings with  even  His  enemies.  But  not  only  will  no  in- 
justice appear,  "the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  in  His 
kindness  toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus"  will  be  the 
surpassing  wonder  through  all  the  ages. 


42  "THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY" 


VIII 

"THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY" 

That  the  sinner's  ignorance  and  folly  in  attempting 
to  earn  salvation  may  more  clearly  appear,  note  the  fol- 
lowing : 

A  colored  man  in  North  Carolina  decides  to  go  to 
Washington  and  pay  for  his  freedom.  With  a  silver  dol- 
lar he  starts  on  his  long  journey,  talking  to  himself  in  a 
most  satisfied  manner,  thus:  "I  don't  propose  to  enjoy 
this  freedom  for  nothing.  I  pay  for  what  I  get.  I  want 
President  Lincoln  to  know  that  there  is  one  man  in 
North  Carolina  that  appreciates  being  free;  and  when  I 
have  paid  for  my  freedom,  I'll  be  under  obligations  to 
nobody.  All  the  rest  of  the  colored  folks  in  our  neigh- 
borhood will  be  nothing  but  charity  folks,  dependent  on 
the  President  for  their  liberty.  But  I'll  be  different ;  I'll 
be  one  who  has  paid  for  his  freedom.  All  the  rest  will 
be  people  who  were  given  their  freedom  like  poorhouse 
folks  get  their  living  from  charity.  I  feel  like  a  superior 
person  already,  and  when  I  get  home  I'll  be  head  and 
shoulders  above  the  other  brethren.  And  I'll  never  stop 
telling  them  how  I  bought  my  freedom  while  theirs  was 
given  to  them.  I  expect  they  will  make  me  deacon  or 
elder,  or  something  I  deserve  like  that." 

At  length  he  reaches  the  Capitol  and,  obtaining  an 
interview  with  the  President,  immediately  makes  known 
his  business. 

Uncle  Works — Mr.  President,  I've  come  all  the  way 
from  North  Carolina  to  pay  for  my  freedom.  I  want 
you  to  know  that  there's  one  man  in  North  Carolina  that 
appreciates  being  free;  and  here  is  the  pay  for  my  free- 
dom. (Offers  the  President  a  dollar.) 


"THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY  "  43 

President  Lincoln — Wait  a  moment,  Uncle.  What  did 
you  pay  for  being  a  slave? 

Uncle  Works — I  didn't  pay  anything ;  I  was  born  that 
way.  My  father  was  a  slave  and  my  mother  was  a  slave, 
and  I  was  just  born  a  slave  and  could  not  help  myself. 

President  Lincoln — Yes,  just  as  I  supposed.  Did  you 
make  any  bargain  with  the  government  that  in  case  it 
would  set  you  free  you  would  pay  it  a  dollar  ? 

Uncle  Works — O  dear,  no;  I  didn't  know  anything 
about  it  till  it  was  all  done. 

.  President  Lincoln — Then,  since  you  were  not  respon- 
sible for  being  made  a  slave,  and  did  not  promise  to  pay 
for  your  freedom,  and  since  the  government  did  not  re- 
quire or  desire  that  you  pay  for  your  liberty,  why  do  you 
insist  on  paying  for  it? 

Uncle  Works — I  insist  on  paying  for  it,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, because  I  don't  want  to  humble  myself  to  accept  it 
as  a  charity.  I  don't  want  to  be  under  obligations  to  any- 
body. I  want  to  be  able  to  say  I  paid  for  my  freedom. 

President  Lincoln — Then  you  insist  on  paying  for  it, 
do  you? 

Uncle  Works — I  certainly  do. 

President  Lincoln — Then  I  must  tell  you  that  your 
dollar  will  not  pay  for  it.  And  I  want  you  to  see  that 
your  offer  to  pay  for  it  only  shows  how  little  you  appre- 
ciate it.  Can  you  figure,  Uncle? 

It  cost  the  lives,  or  limbs,  or  health  of  five  hundred 
thousand  able-bodied  men  to  set  you  free.  How  many 
silver  dollars  would  it  take  to  equal  in  value  500,000  hus- 
bands and  fathers,  sons  and  brothers  ? 

And  besides  these,  there  are  500,000  widows  and  or- 
phans, and  sonless  mothers,  and  brotherless  sisters,  who 
mourn  the  loss  of  husbands  and  fathers  and  sons  and 
brothers. 

Furthermore,  in  order  that  you  may  get  some  little 


"THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY  '  45 

idea  of  what  it  cost  to  set  you  free,  go  to  some  church- 
yard where  a  widowed  mother  and  her  orphan  children 
are  kneeling  around  a  newly  made  grave  that  holds  a 
husband  and  father,  and  watch  them  weep,  and  hear 
their  moans,  and  remember  there  are  500,000  widows  and 
orphans  and  mothers  and  sisters  who  weep  for  their 
fallen  husbands  and  fathers  and  sons  and  brothers. 

Uncle,  how  many  silver  dollars  will  it  take  to  balance 
this  mountain  of  human  woe?  And  now  since  you  in- 
sist upon  paying  the  price  of  your  freedom,  down  with 
its  millions! 

Uncle  Works— O  Mr.  President!  I  can't  pay  it.  I 
never  thought  it  cost  so  much.  I  am  ashamed  that  I  ever 
thought  of  paying  for  it.  As  you  talked,  this  dollar  that 
looked  so  big  to  me  when  you  began,  kept  getting  smaller 
and  smaller  until  I  am  so  ashamed  of  it  that  I  want  to 
get  it  out  of  sight. 

But,  Mr.  President,  isn't  there  something  that  a  poor 
old  colored  man  can  do  to  show  his  appreciation  of  the 
liberty  that  cost  so  much  ?  Since  you  talked  about  what 
it  cost  to  set  me  free,  I  believe  I  do  really  begin  to  ap- 
preciate my  freedom.  I  will  never  try  to  pay  for  it.  But 
can't  I  do  something  to  show  my  appreciation  of  it? 

•President  Lincoln — Yes,  indeed  you  can.  Go  home, 
Uncle,  and  live  like  a  free  man.  Be  obedient  to  the  laws 
of  your  State,  be  respectful  to  all  your  neighbors,  pay 
your  honest  debts,  do  unto  others  as  you  would  be  done 
by,  and  show  by  your  life  that  you  appreciate  your  free- 
dom. 

Uncle  Works— I  will  do  all  that  gladly,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent. 

President  Lincoln — But,  Uncle,  ever  remember  that 
should  you  keep  all  the  laws  of  the  land  perfectly,  pay 
all  your  debts,  do  unto  others  as  you  would  be  done  by, 
all  your  life,  it  would  have  no  part  in  paying  for  your 


46  "THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY  " 

freedom ;  that  is  already  paid  for,  and  is  a  free  gift.  Re- 
member that  all  your  efforts  to  pay  for  it  will  only  show 
how  little  you  appreciate  its  cost. 

Reader,  if  you  are  ever  tempted  to  try  to  pay  for 
your  salvation  by  good  works,  by  law  keeping,  go  back 
in  mind  to  Gethsemane  and  Calvary  where  the  debt  was 
paid,  where  the  millstone  of  a  world's  wickedness  was 
carried  to  the  cross,  and  cast  into  the  sea  of  God's  for- 
getfulness. 

Go  back  to  Gethsemane's  garden,  where  the  mountain 
weight  of  a  world's  woes  weighs  the  Redeemer  to  earth, 
and  presses  from  His  pores  His  precious  blood.  Watch 
while  He  staggers  from  the  shadow  of  death  to  the 
weary  watchmen  who,  for  sorrow,  are  heavily  sleeping. 

Watch,  while  alone  He  turns  again  and  falls  upon  the 
blood-bathed  earth,  and  in  an  agony  of  soul  which  no  pen 
can  picture,  no  tongue  can  tell,  wills  to  drink  to  its  dregs 
sin's  bitter  cup.  Watch,  while  the  angel  lifts  the  faint- 
ing form,  and  ministers  strength  for  the  struggle  that 
has  scarce  begun. 

Watch  Him  all  the  way  from  the  garden  to  the  grave. 
Watch  the  smiting  and  the  spitting.  Watch  the  mockery 
in  the  robing  and  crowning.  Watch  the  scoffing  and  the 
scourging. 

Now  follow  the  wailing,  cursing  crowd  to  Calvary's 
cross,  and  see  the  spiking  and  the  bleeding,  the  mangling 
and  moaning,  the  groaning  and  the  weeping. 

Wait  through  the  hours  that  lengthen  like  ages.  Wait 
till  the  shadow  of  death  drapes  with  its  sable  mantle  the 
soul-piercing  scene.  Wait  till  out  from  the  depths  of  the 
deepening  darkness  there  comes  that  startling,  piercing, 
freezing  cry  from  the  heart  of  the  dying  Redeemer,  "My 
God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 

Wait,  sinner,  wait  for  that  closing,  crowning  cry,  "It 
is  finished."  Behold  the  clashing  clouds,  the  reeling 


<ii 

fc 

I 

«*J 

13 
•« 

"Q 

•JS 

<i» 

! 

<^> 


I. 


48  "THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY" 

earth,  the  rifting  rocks,  the  rending  veil,  and  the  burst- 
ing graves,  and — the  bleeding,  broken  heart. 

Reader,  "do  not  frustrate  the  grace  of  God,  for  if 
righteousness  come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in 


"Oh,  why  was  He  there  as  the  bearer  of  sin, 

If  on  Jesus  thy  guilt  was  not  laid? 
Oh,  why  from  His  side  flowed  His  sin-cleansing  blood, 
If  His  dying  thy  debt  has  not  paid? 

"Then  doubt  not  thy  welcome  since  God  has  declared 

There  remaineth   no   more  to  be   done; 
That  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  He  appeared, 
And  completed  the  work  He  begun." 

Is  it  not  plain  that  the  sinner's  effort  to  purchase  sal- 
vation by  good  works  can  only  discredit  the  atoning  work 
of  Christ  by  which  alone  he  has  been  redeemed?  Is  it 
not  clear  that  the  sinner's  self-righteous  efforts  to  earn 
salvation  by  law-keeping,  can  only  reveal  how  little  he 
appreciates  the  cost  of  salvation? 

But  is  there  not  something  which  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners, saved  by  grace,  can  do  to  manifest  that  love  that 
is  born  in  his  heart  from  beholding  such  manner  of  love? 
Oh,  yes.  "If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments." 
"We  love  Him  because  He  first  loved  us."  "And  this  is 
the  love  of  God  that  we  keep  His  commandments,  and 
His  commandments  are  not  grievous." 

Here  is  the  only  place  and  purpose  of  commandment- 
keeping.  All  commandment-keeping  that  is  wrought  to 
earn  salvation  is  but  the  filthy  rags  of  man's  self-right- 
eousness. Were  we  to  keep  the  law  perfectly  from  now 
to  the  end  of  our  days,  it  would  and  could  have  nothing 
to  do  with  earning  salvation.  That  has  already  been 
earned  for  us,  and  the  only  thing  that  we  can  do  is  to 


"THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY"  49 

accept  it  as  a  free  gift  of  grace,  and  love  and  serve  the 
Giver  from  the  heart,  in  the  Spirit,  all  our  days. 

Reader,  do  you  see  it?  I  lived  and  preached  many 
years  before  I  saw  it. 

Of  that  which  we  have  written,  this  is  the  sum :  Com- 
mandment-keeping has  nothing  to  do  with  earning  sal- 
vation; and  yet  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  has  for  its 
object  the  transforming  of  a  loveless,  law-breaking  enemy 
of  God  into  a  loving,  law-keeping  friend  of  God. 

These  two  divine  truths,  hard  to  understand  by  the 
''unlearned  and  the  unstable,"  form,  nevertheless,  the 
heart  truth  of  the  gospel.  These  two  apparently  con- 
tradictory statements  are  but  the  two  halves  of  a  har- 
monious whole.  They  are  the  truths  for  which  Paul 
suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  for  which  he  was  per- 
secuted by  the  Gentiles,  the  Jews,  and  the  Judaizing 
Christian  church  at  Jerusalem. 

If  there  is  one  truth  above  another  that  the  prince  of 
lies  hates,  it  is  the  harmonious  blending  of  these  two 
divine  truths  into  one  divine  whole.  It  matters  little  to 
him  which  one  is  preached  if  only  that  one  be  preached 
as  opposed  to  the  other.  If  grace  be  preached  as  making 
'Void  the  law,"  or  if  law-keeping  is  presented  so  as  to 
"frustrate  the  grace  of  God,"  the  father  of  lies  is  sat- 
isfied. 

All  down  the  ages,  Satan  has  sought  and  fought  to 
separate  these  two  great  and  vital  truths,  and  keep  them 
separate.  His  success  is  seen  all  along  the  way,  but  at 
no  time  more  than  now,  when  many  make  commandment- 
keeping  a  saving  work,  and  salvation  by  grace  is  made 
by  many  more  a  lawless  license  to  make  void  one  or  all 
of  God's  ten  commandments. 

But,  bless  the  Lord,  there  is  the  prophetic  promise 
that  in  the  face  of  the  wrath  of  the  dragon,  these  two 


50  "THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY" 

truths  will  be  united  in  the  lives  and  labors  of  a  remnant 
and  persecuted  people,  before  the  return  of  our  Lord. 

"And  the  dragon  was  wroth  with  the  woman,  and 
went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her  seed,  which 
keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  Christ."  Rev.  12:17. 

"Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints ;  here  are  they  that 
keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  the  faith  of  Jesus." 
Rev.  14:12. 


IX 


"FREED  FROM  THE  LAW" 

The  Governor- General  of  a  great  English  colony — 
a  man  of  great  wealth  and  of  benevolent  disposition — in- 
terested himself  in  a  young  man  whose  birth  and  train- 
ing had  marked  him  a  criminal.  This  young  man,  though 
not  yet  twenty-five  years  old,  had  committed  numerous 
crimes,  and  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  re- 
formatories and  prisons  and  had  come  to  be  regarded 
as  a  confirmed  criminal.  He  had  just  been  sentenced  to 
pay  the  death  penalty  for  his  last  and  worst  crime. 

His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  decides  to  pay  the 
price  of  the  man's  life  and  adopt  him  as  his  son  with 
the  hope  of  seeing  him  become  a  law-abiding  citizen. 
With  this  in  mind  he  visits  the  Judge  who  pronounced 
the  sentence,  a  man  of  irreproachable  character.  Between 
them  there  had  been  a  lifelong  friendship;  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  parable,  the  following  conversation  passes  be- 
tween them. 

Governor-General — I  have  called,  My  lord,  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  young  man,  John  Borninsin,  whom  you 
have  just  sentenced  to  death.  I  have  decided  to  pay  the 


'FREED  FROM  THE  LAW  51 

price*  of  his  life  and  undertake  his  reform  by  adopting 
him  into  my  family.  I  have  known  the  young  man  from 
his  childhood.  He  was  born  with  a  criminal  nature ;  his 
parents  were  criminals,  and  his  whole  training  has  been 
in  the  atmosphere  of  crime.  It  is  my  purpose  to  instruct 
him  in  a  better  life  and  lead  him  to  forsake  his  lawless 
career. 

The  Judge — I  appreciate  Your  Excellency's  praise- 
worthy compassion  for  this  young  reprobate;  but  I  must 
express  my  settled  conviction  that  you  are  wasting  both 
your  wealth  and  your  sympathy.  It  will  not  be  a  fort- 
night before  he  will  have  committed  another  crime;  he 
was  born  to  forfeit  his  life  on  the  gallows. 

Governor-General — But  I  have  faith  that  he  can  be 
reformed.  At  least  I  am  determined  that  he  shall  have 
a  chance  to  know  and  choose  the  blessings  of  a  law- 
abiding  life. 

Judge — But,  Your  Excellency,  his  crimes  will  take  him 
from  you  and  place  him  under  the  stern  hand  of  the  law 
before  you  have  an  opportunity  to  exert  your  influence 
upon  him.  It  will  be  useless  to  pay  the  price  of  his  life 
now,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  crimes  he  will  com- 
mit will  bring  him  back  under  the  law  almost  immediately. 
It  will  be  necessary  for  you  not  only  to  redeem  him  from 
past  lawlessness,  but  if  you  are  to  save  the  man,  you  will 
have  to  redeem  him  from  the  results  of  future  trans- 
gressions also. 

Governor-General — I  have  foreseen  all  this  and  have 
planned  for  it.  I  clearly  perceive  that  it  would  be  use- 
less to  redeem  him  from  the  law  as  regards  the  past  un- 


*At  this  point  the  parable  is  not  in  harmony  with  facts,  since  the  life  of 
a  criminal  cannot  now,  as  of  old,  be  redeemed  by  money;  but,  for  the  para- 
ble's  sake  the  reader  is  asked  to  overlook  this  discrepancy.  The  parable  also 
falls  far  short,  in  representing  the  "new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus",  but  this 
does  not  affect  the  attitude  taken  by  the  young  man,  or  his  relation  to  the 
law",  the  Judge,  and  the  Governor  who  stands  as  his  substitute. 


52  "FREED  FROM  THE. LAW 

less  provision  be  made  for  the  future.  Consequently,  I 
have  decided  to  deposit  with  you  to  his  credit  my  entire 
fortune — enough  to  redeem  him  from  all  the  transgres- 
sions of  the  law  which  he  shall  ever  commit  in  his  ignor- 
ance and  weakness.  In  this  way  I  shall  be  able  to  keep 
him  out  from  under  the  law,  and  place  him  under  grace, 
until  he  has  had  the  privileges  that  grace  will  bring  to 
him.  With  this  deposit  to  his  credit,  it  will  be  impossible 
for  him  to  come  under  the  law,  even  when  he  commits  a 
crime.  He  will  not  be  under  law  but  under  grace.  His 
transgressions  of  the  law  will  be  imputed  to  me,  and  my 
grace  imputed  to  him.  It  will,  therefore,  be  impossible 
to  get  him  under  the  law  or  in  prison,  so  long  as  my 
deposit  of  grace,  which  is  placed  to  his  credit,  is  more 
abundant  than  his  transgressions.  And  I  purpose  to  see 
to  it  that  it  shall  be  said  in  this  case,  "Where  sin  abound- 
ed, grace  did  much  more  abound."  You  see,  I  am 
voluntarily  putting  myself  under  the  law  in  order  to  de- 
liver him  from  under  the  law. 

Judge — If  I  did  not  know  of  your  exceptional  rev- 
erence for  the  majesty  of  the  law,  I  would  interpret  this 
act  as  being  in  hostility  to  the  law,  or  at  least  as  throwing 
discredit  on  the  law;  but,  inasmuch  as  the  present  code 
of  laws  was  drafted  by  yourself  and  presented  to  Par- 
liament when  you  were  a  member  of  that  body,  and  en- 
acted into  law  by  your  earnest  voice  and  vote,  I  cannot 
conceive  of  your  extraordinary  efforts  on  behalf  of  this 
unfortunate  young  man  as  being  other  than  in  perfect 
sympathy  with  the  law. 

Governor-General — My  efforts  on  behalf  of  this 
young  man  are  not  intended  to  make  void  the  law,  but 
to  establish  the  law.  If  my  efforts  were  to  make  void 
the  law,  I  certainly  would  not  place  my  fortune  at  your 
disposal  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  the  just  claims  of 
the  law.  If  I  wanted  to  make  void  the  law,  I  would  work 


54  'FREED  FROM  THE  LAW" 

for  its  repeal;  or  easier  still,  I  would  use  my  pardoning 
power  as  chief  executive,  and  pardon  him  whenever  he  is 
convicted  of  crime,  and  thus  save  my  fortune.  The  very 
fact  that  I  place  my  fortune  at  your  disposal,  establishes 
and  vindicates  the  law  as  being  both  just  and  good.  And 
besides,  all  my  efforts  for  the  young  man  are  for  the 
one  purpose  of  making  him  a  law-abiding  citizen.  My 
efforts  are  to  make  of  him  a  man  in  whom  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  law  shall  be  fulfilled.  But,  in  order  to  ac- 
complish this,  he  must  be  delivered  from  the  law,  and 
kept  free;  otherwise,  as  you  say,  he  will  come  under  the 
penalty  of  the  law,  which  is  death ;  and  thereby  be  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  grace. 

Judge — Yes ;  I  see  your  position,  and  agree  with  you, 
both  in  purpose  and  plan ;  but  there  is  one  difficulty  which 
must  be  made  clear  to  me  before  I  can  consent  to  be  a 
party  to  this  gracious  work  of  yours.  Suppose  the 
young  man,  when  he  learns  of  the  placing  of  your 
abounding  deposit  of  grace,  instead  of  thankfully  ac- 
knowledging your  great  kindness  toward  him,  and  mak- 
ing use  of  his  freedom  from  the  law  to  be  instructed  by 
you  to  become  a  law-abiding  citizen,  on  the  contrary 
takes  advantage  of  the  fact  that  it  is  impossible  to  bring 
him  under  the  law,  and  continues  to  transgress,  simply 
because  he  is  not  under  law  but  under  grace,  what  is 
to  be  done  in  that  case?  I  cannot  consent  to  be  a  party 
to  this  transaction  if  I  shall  become,  by  so  doing,  a  party 
to  ministering  liberty  to  this  man  if  he  uses  that  liberty 
as  a  cloak  of  maliciousness.  I  cannot  minister  this  de- 
posit when  I  know  that  the  man  having  been  once  en- 
lightened, and  having  tasted  your  heavenly  gift  of  free- 
dom from  the  law,  and  the  power  to  obey  the  law,  wil- 
fully and  deliberately  chooses  his  old  life  of  a  criminal, 
preferring  the  life  of  a  transgressor  to  that  of  a  law- 
abiding  citizen.  I  cannot  become  a  party  to  his  continued 


"FREED  FROM  THE  LAW"  55 

crimes,  by  continuing  to  minister  liberty  to  him,  which 
he  deliberately  uses  to  continue  his  crimes. 

Governor-General — I  most  certainly  do  not  ask  you 
to  do  this.  As  I  said  before,  my  efforts  on  his  behalf  are 
not  directed  to  save  him  from  the  law  in  order  that  he 
may  transgress  it,  but  to  save  him  from  the  law  that  he 
may  be  taught  to  observe  it  faithfully.  If  he  transgresses 
the  law  wilfully  after  he  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  as  you  have  just  stated,  there  will  remain  no 
part  of  my  sacrificing  deposit  for  him.  I  make  no  de- 
posit to  save  him  from  wilful,  deliberate  transgression; 
my  deposit  is  to  cover  the  transgressions  which  he  has 
committed  and  those  violations  of  the  law  which  he  will 
still  commit  in  his  inherited  and  cultivated  weakness  of 
nature,  and  in  his  ignorance  of  the  law  and  lack  of  power 
to  obey  it,  until  by  my  teaching  he  has  come  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  blessings  and  privileges  of  a  law-abiding  citi- 
zen. But  if  he  transgresses  wilfully  after  all  this,  if  he 
tramples  upon  my  sacrifice  for  him ;  if  he  comes  to  count 
the  giving  of  my  fortune  as  something  given  that  he  may 
continue  in  law-breaking ;  if  he  thus  deliberately  does  de- 
spite to  the  spirit  of  grace  shown  him,  then  there  remains 
no  deposit  of  grace  for  him.  Then  he  must  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  civil  authority,  and  will  be  deserving  of 
sorer  punishment  than  if  he  had  never  known  of  my 
abounding  grace. 


56  "UNDER  GRACE" 


"UNDER  GRACE" 

By  the  illustration  of  the  previous  chapter,  it  is  plain 
that  so  far  as  the  young  transgressor  is  concerned,  the 
Judge's  seat  has  become  a  throne  of  grace,  and  the  Judge 
a  minister  of  grace.  To  him  the  Judge  is  no  longer  a 
minister  of  law,  but  a  minister  of  mercy  and  grace.  The 
Judge  is  still  a  minister  of  law,  but  not  to  the  young  man. 
He  ministers  the  law  to  the  substitute  and  grace  to  the 
transgressor. 

If  in  the  illustration  the  deposit  of  grace  had  been 
made  on  behalf  of  all  the  people  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Judge,  it  would  have  transformed  the  Judge  from 
a  minister  of  law  to  the  people,  to  a  minister  of  grace  to 
all  the  people.  None  of  the  people  within  his  jurisdic- 
tion could  be  said  to  be  under  law,  but  on  the  other  hand, 
all  would  be  under  grace,  and  the  Judge's  seat  would  be- 
come a  throne  of  grace. 

And  this  illustrates  the  blessed  position  in  which  the 
"whole  world"  is  placed  by  "the  glorious  gospel  of 
Christ."  "God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
Himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them;  .  .  . 
For  He  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no 
sin;  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
Him."  2  Cor.  5:19,  21. 

Since  God  has  not  imputed  to  this  world  its  trans- 
gressions of  His  law,  but  in  His  abounding  grace  has 
imputed  its  transgressions  to  His  Son,  it  follows  that 
in  this  gracious  transaction  He  has  delivered  the  world 
from  under  the  law  and  placed  it  under  grace.  "The 
grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared  to 


"UNDER  GRACE"  57 

all  men."  Titus  2:11.  "We  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a 
little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death, 
.  .  .  that  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death 
for  every  man!'  Heb.  2:9. 

In  Romans  5  the  Apostle  Paul  reaches  the  same  con- 
clusion. He  first  shows  that  through  Adam's  transgres- 
sion sin  abounded  to  every  member  of  the  human  race. 
Even*  one  born  after  Adam's  transgression  was  born  a 
transgressor.  Adam,  by  making  himself  a  sinner,  made 
the  whole  world  sinners.  A  stream  cannot  rise  higher 
than  its  source.  Coming  into  possession  of  a  sinful  na- 
ture, his  children  were  born  with  sinful  natures,  and 
could  no  more  save  themselves  from  sinning  than  the 
Ethiopian  could  save  himself  from  the  color  of  his  skin. 
"By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world."  Verse  12. 
"Therefore  as  by  the  offense  of  one  judgment  came  upon 
all  men  to  condemnation;  even  so  by  the  righteousness 
of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification 
of  life."  Verse  18.  "For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience 
the  many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one 
shall  the  many  (R.  V.)  be  made  righteous."  Verse  19. 

The  children  of  Adam  did  not  make  themselves  sin- 
ners. I  did  not  make  myself  a  sinner.  Adam  made  me 
a  sinner,  and  I  have  sinned  because  I  was  born  a  sinner. 
My  sins  did  not  make  me  a  sinner.  Crab-apples  on  a 
crab-apple  tree  do  not  make  the  tree  a  crab-apple  tree. 
It  was  a  crab-apple  tree  years  before  it  bore  crab-apples. 
It  bore  crab-apples  because  it  was  a  crab-apple  tree.  So 
your  sins  did  not  make  you  a  sinner,  but  you  sinned  be- 
cause you  were  born  a  sinner. 

God  knows  that  we  cannot  keep  ourselves  from  sin- 
ning, burdened  as  we  are  with  sinful  natures.  He  does 
not  ask  us  to  accomplish  the  impossible,  and  He  will  not 
punish  us  because  we  did  not  do  what  He  knows  and 
says  is  impossible  for  us  to  do.  And  in  making  known 


58  "UNDER  GRACE" 

His  law,  it  was  not  His  purpose  to  add  to  our  misery  by 
making  known  to  us  the  abounding  sinfulness  which  was 
given  to  us,  without  our  asking,  by  the  .sinning  head  of 
the  human  race,  but  that  we  might  come  to  realize  what 
abounding  sinners  we  are,  in  order  that  we  might  receive 
and  appreciate  abounding  salvation.  "The  law  entered 
that  the  offense  might  abound.  But  where  sin  abounded 
[to  all  the  world]  grace  did  much  more  abound  [to  all 
the  world]  ;  that  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death  [over 
all  the  world],  even  so  might  grace  reign  [over  all  the 
world],  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life  by  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  Rom.  5:20,  21. 

Since  "the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath 
appeared  to  all  men";  since  God  has  made  a  deposit  of 
grace  more  abounding  than  the  deposit  of  sin  which 
Adam  gave  the  whole  race,  it  follows  that  the  throne  ot 
God  is  a  throne  of  grace.  All  under  that  throne  are 
under  grace.  God  has  not  failed  to  minister  law,  but  He 
has  ministered  the  law  to  His  Lamb,  the  Lamb  of  God 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  and  His  grace  to 
the  whole  sinning  world.  Consequently,  the  whole  world 
is  under  grace.  "Ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace." 

But  is  the  sinner  under  grace  ?  Is  not  the  transgressor 
of  the  law  under  law?  Is  the  transgressor  of  the  law 
under  grace  ?  Reader,  can  you  not  see  that  it  is  the 
transgressor  of  the  law  above  all  others  who  is  in  need 
of  grace?  In  fact,  Christ  did  not  come  to  bring  grace  to 
any  but  sinners.  Only  sinners  were  in  need  of  grace.  "I 
am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repent- 
ance." Sinners  alone  will  realize  their  need  of  grace. 
"Moreover,  the  law  entered  that  the  offense  might 
abound;  but  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more 
abound.  That  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death  [over  all 
the  world],  even  so  might  grace  reign  [over  all  the 


"UNDER  GRACE"  59 

world]  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord." 

It  is  only  through  Christ  that  the  transgressor  is  un- 
der grace.  If  he  be  viewed  through  the  law,  apart  from 
the  cross  of  Calvary,  he  is  most  positively  under  law.  It 
is  only  when  the  sinner  is  seen  through  the  sacrifice  of 
Calvary,  that  he  is  seen  to  be  under  grace.  But  which 
view  of  man  is  the  correct  one?  Shall  he  be  viewed 
through  the  law,  or  through  the  cross  ?  It  is  evident  that 
God  views  him  through  the  cross,  and  consequently  views 
him  under  grace.  And  would  not  God  have  His  ambas- 
sadors view  men  as  He  views  them? 

And  now  that  it  is  plain  that  John,  in  the  illustration, 
is  under  grace,  and  therefore  not  under  law,  is  there  any 
one  in  the  illustration  who  is  under  law?  Certainly. 
The  governor  is  under  law. 

The  law,  instead  of  being  dishonored  by  John's  re- 
lease from  its  condemnation,  has  been  honored  in  that  it 
has  collected  its  demands  to  the  last  farthing  from  the 
most  exalted  personage  in  the  state. 

And  now,  since  the  governor  takes.  John's  place  un- 
der the  law,  the  governor  is  under  law  and  not  under 
grace.  One  cannot  be  both  under  law  and  under  grace 
at  the  same  time.  For  the  Word  says,  "Ye  are  not  under 
the  law  but  under  grace" 

One  who  is  under  grace  cannot  at  the  same  time  be 
under  law,  and  one  under  law  cannot  at  the  same  time  be 
tinder  grace.  The  sinner  and  his  substitute  cannot  both 
escape  the  law's  condemnation,  neither  can  both  be  held 
by  the  law  for  the  same  offense. 

And  now,  inasmuch  as  Christ  took  the  place  under 
the  law  as  the  substitute  for  all  the  children  of  Adam 
whom  Adam  placed  under  the  law  by  his  sinning,  it  fol- 
lows that  all  men  were  thereby  placed  under  grace. 
Christ  was  not  placed  under  the  condemnation  of  the 


60  "UNDER  GRACE " 

law  for  His  own  transgressions,  but  for  the  world's 
transgressions.  Therefore,  when  the  law  collected  its 
demands  from  Christ,  in  that  very  act.it  released  man. 
"Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  be- 
ing made  a  curse  for  us."  When  did  Christ  redeem  us 
from  the  curse  of  the  law  ?  "For  it  is  written,  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree." 

The  law  had  no  power  over  Christ  unless  Christ  as- 
sumed man's  guilt,  and  unless  the  law  admits  that  this 
guilt  is  man's  guilt.  Therefore,  when  the  law  collected 
sin's  penalty  from  Christ,  it  collected  man's  penalty, 
thereby  recognizing  that  man's  penalty  was  paid,  and 
man  released  from  the  law,  and  therefore  under  grace. 

Why,  then,  is  any  man  lost?  Because  it  is  possible 
for  man,  by  rejecting  grace,  to  commit  sins  for  which 
Christ  did  not  substitute,  whose  penalty  Christ  did  not 
pay  in  His  death,  and  which  can  only  be  paid  in  the 
death  of  the  sinner  himself. 


XI 
"IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?" 

In  this  connection  it  is  important  to  consider  the 
question,  Is  Christ  under  the  law  today?  The  only  rea- 
son why  He  ever  was  under  the  law  was  because  "He 
bore  our  sins"  and  "not  ours  only,  but  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world." 

And  the  only  reason  that  He  ever  bore  our  sins  was 
to  meet  their  penalty  in  His  death.  The  law  could  only 
follow  Him  to  death.  "The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  Rom. 
6 :  23.  "He  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sjn.  .  .  .  Know- 
ing that  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more ; 
death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  Him.  For  in  that  He 


14 IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?"  61 

died,  He  died  unto  sin  once;  but  in  that  He  liveth,  He 
liveth  unto  God."  Rom.  6 :  7-10. 

Christ  is  therefore  no  longer  under  law,  because  He 
no  longer  bears  sin,  for  He  bore  sin  as  far  as  it  can  be 
borne,  that  is — unto  death.  Christ  is  therefore  not  a  sin- 
bearer  today,  and  has  not  been  since  He  bore  our  sins  in 
His  own  body  on  the  tree.  All  the  sins  which  He  ever 
will  bear,  He  has  borne,  and  borne  them  into  oblivion  in 
His  death.  "For  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected  for- 
ever them  that  are  sanctified." 

The  sins  which  men  commit  today,  and  for  which  they 
receive  pardon  when  they  confess  them,  were  all  atoned 
for  in  the  death  of  Christ.  And  the  only  reason  they  re- 
ceive pardon  when  they  repent,  is  because  Christ  died 
under  those  sins  once  for  all.  If  men  commit  sins  which 
Christ  did  not  bear  when  He  bore  our  sins  on  Calvary, 
there  can  be  no  pardon  for  those  sins.  "For  without  the 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission."  "The  wages 
of  sin  is  death,"  and  Christ  will  not  die  again. 

The  Apostle  Paul  lays  the  foundation  for  universal 
atonement  through  Christ,  in  the  fact  of  universal  alien- 
ation through  Adam.  This  is  the  Divine  argument  of 
the  fifth  chapter  of  Romans. 

"By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by 
sin."  Verse  12. 

"By  the  trespass  of  the  one  the  many  be  dead." 
Verse  15,  R.  V. 

"By  one  man's  offense  death  reigned  by  one." 
Verse  17. 

"By  the  offense  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men 
to  condemnation."  Verse  18. 

"By  one  man's  disobedience  the  many  were  made 
sinners."  Verse  19. 

Thus  repeatedly  is  it  stated  that  one  man  made  all  men 
sinners  and  brought  death  upon  all.  Therefore,  no  child 


62  "IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?" 

of  Adam  is  responsible  for  being  made  a  sinner,  nor  for 
his  death.  "In  Adam  all  die."  This  fact  lays  the  foun- 
dation for  universal  atonement. 

Reader,  if  a  man  and  his  son  were  standing  on  a  pier, 
and  the  father  should  push  the  son,  who  cannot  swim, 
off  into  the  sea,  would  it  be  an  injustice  if  a  life-saver 
should  go  down  into  the  sea  and  rescue  the  boy  and 
place  him  back  on  the  pier  ?  Has  the  father  the  right  to 
choose  death  by  drowning  for  his  son?  Ought  not  the 
son  to  at  least  have  a  chance  to  choose  for  himself  ?  But 
the  only  way  by  which  he  can  have  a  chance  to  choose  is 
for  him  to  be  rescued  by  the  life-saver,  and  placed  back 
where  he  was  before  his  father  pushed  him  off. 

Adam  pushed  the  whole  world  off  the  pier  of  life  and 
innocency,  into  the  sea  of  sin  and  death.  No  child  of 
Adam  had  opportunity  to  choose  for  himself  whether  he 
wanted  to  be  a  sinner  and  die  a  sinner's  death,  before  this 
doom  was  placed  upon  him  by  the  choice  of  Adam. 

Note  this  fact  carefully.  Adam,  by  his  choice,  plunges 
all  men  into  sin  and  death.  It  is  too  late  for  Adam's 
children  to  choose  life  after  Adam  has  slain  them.  A 
dead  man  cannot  choose  life  unless  he  be  first  delivered 
from  death,  and  the  only  way  by  which  a  child  of  Adam 
could  have  a  chance  to  choose  life,  was  first  to  redeem 
him  from  the  death  into  which  Adam  plunged  him. 

This  is  the  reason  why  the  God  of  all  grace  could, 
and  did,  plan  to  save  man  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  This  is  the  reason  why  He  did  not  need  to  con- 
sult the  world  before  He  gave  His  Son  to  bear  the  sins 
of  the  world. 

Adam  did  not  consult  us  before  he  ruined  us,  and  so 
God  need  not  consult  us  before  He  redeemed  us. 

"Who  [God]  hath  saved  us,  and  called  us  with  an 
holy  calling,  not  according  to  our  works,  but  according 
to  His  own  purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in 


"IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LA  W  TOD  A  Y?  "  63 

Christ  Jesus  before  the  world  began."      2  Tim.   1:9. 

And  this  is  the  reason  the  promise  which  God  made 
to  Abraham,  "In  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  be  blessed"  (Gen.  22:18),  was  an  unconditional 
promise.  In  Adam  they  were  all  cursed  without  condi- 
tions. In  Jesus  Christ  they  were  all  blessed  without  con- 
ditions. 

The  Jew  in  his  blind  self -righteousness  could  not  un- 
derstand this,  and  so  tried  to  make  law-keeping  a  condi- 
tion of  God's  bestowing  this  blessing.  It  was  against  this 
perversion  of  the  gospel  that  Paul  hurls  the  lightning 
bolts  of  gospel  logic  in  the  third  chapter  of  Galatians. 

But  do  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  great  Life-saver 
did  go  down  into  the  sea  of  sin  and  death  and  rescue  all 
men,  and  place  them  back  on  the  pier  of  life  and  inno- 
cency  before  the  law?  Yes,  this  is  the  conclusion  of 
Paul's  argument  in  the  fifth  of  Romans. 

"Therefore,  as  by  the  offense  of  one  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation ;  even  so  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  one,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justi- 
fication of  life.  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  the 
many  (R.  V.)  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of 
one  shall  the  many  (R.  V.)  be  made  righteous.  More- 
over the  law  entered,  that  the  offense  might  abound.  But 
where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound." 
Rom.  5 :  18-20. 

But  if  all  men  have  been  placed  back  on  the  pier  of 
"justification  of  life,"  does  that  not  mean  "Universal- 
ism"? — This  is  a  thousand  miles  from  "Universalism" ! 

The  pier  on  which  Adam  stood,  and  the  world  in 
Adam,  before  he  threw  himself  and  the  world  into  the 
sea  of  sin  and  death,  was  simply  the  platform  of  life  and 
irmocency  before  the  law.  Eternal  life  was  on  a  higher 
platform,  a  gift  of  grace  to  be  had  by  choosing. 

When  the  blessed  Life-saver  placed  all  men  back  on 


64  "IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?" 

the  pier  of  life  and  innocency  before  the  law,  He  placed 
them  back  where  Adam  stood  and  where  they  stood  in 
Adam  before  Adam  pushed  them  off  into  sin  and  death 
All  men  now  have  a  chance  to  choose  whether  they  will 
go  higher  into  eternal  life,  or  lower  into  the  second  death. 

Thus  far  has  the  God  of  all  grace  gone  in  the  plan 
of  redemption  without  the  will  or  co-operation  of  man. 
All  men  were  ruined  without  their  will  or  co-operation, 
and  therefore  all  men  could  be  redeemed  without  their 
will  or  co-operation.  What !  save  a  man  without  his  will  ? 

Yes,  "He  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of 
those  that  believe."  1  Tim.  4:  10.  "Who  gave  Himself 
a  ransom  for  all."  1  Tim.  2 : 6.  The  first  scripture  tells 
us  that  He  is  the  Saviour  of  men  who  do  not  believe, 
but  He  is  especially  the  Saviour  of  those  who  do  believe. 

There  are  two  phases  of  salvation  clearly  brought  to 
view  in  the  Scriptures.  First,  that  salvation  which  God 
wrought  for  man  on  the  cross  before  he  believed,  and 
second,  that  which  He  works  in  man  when  he  believes. 
The  first  salvation  will  profit  us  nothing  without  the  sec- 
ond. "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ; 
but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Mark  16 : 16. 

These  two  phases  of  salvation  are  again  brought  to 
view  in  Romans  5.  "But  God  commendeth  His  love 
toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ 
died  for  us."  Verse  8.  We  were  sinners  before  He  died 
for  us,  were  sinners  while  He  was  dying  for  us,  and  we 
v/ere  sinners,  in  ourselves  considered  after  He  died  for 
us.  Again : 

"While  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God 
through  the  death  of  His  Son."  Verse  10,  R.  V. 

We  were  enemies  before  we  were  reconciled  to  God 
by  the  death  of  His  Son,  and  while  he  was  reconciling  us 
by  the  death  of  His  Son,  and  we  were  enemies,  in  our- 
selves considered,  after  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by 


"IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?"  65 

the  death  of  His  Son.  Nevertheless,  we  were  reconciled 
to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son.  While  we  were  still 
enemies  to  God  from  our  standpoint,  we  were  at  the  same 
time  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son,  from 
God's  standpoint. 

Notice  how  we  were  reconciled.  It  was  not  through 
our  good  works, — not  through  our  faith  that  we  were 
reconciled  to  God;  for  this  reconciliation  was  accom- 
plished without  our  faith;  yes,  even  while  we  were  ene- 
mies. This  reconciliation  was  accomplished,  not  by  our 
faith,  but  "by  the  death  of  His  Son." 

And  this  reconciliation  that  has  reconciled  man  before 
he  believes,  is  what  he  believes  before  he  is  reconciled. 
These  two  phases  of  reconciliation  are  clearly  presented 
in  2  Cor.  5. 

"God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self." Verse  19. 

This  scripture  does  not  say  God  is  in  Christ  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  Himself,  although  that  is  just  what 
He  is  doing.  But  that  is  not  the  phase  of  reconciliation 
taught  in  this  scripture.  This  is  shown  by  the  means 
by  which  this  reconciliation  is  accomplished. 

"God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self, [how?]  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them. 
.  .  .  For  He  hath  made  [not  is  making]  Him  to  be 
sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  Him."  2  Cor.  5 : 19-21. 

This  reconciliation  which  was  made  by  charging  the 
world's  sins  to  Christ,  and  not  charging  them  to  the 
world,  is  a  reconciliation  that  has  already  been  accom- 
plished for  all  the  world,  and  is  the  same  reconciliation 
referred  to  in  Rom.  5 :10,  where  it  is  said,  "We  were 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son." 

But  there  is  another  reconciliation  spoken  of  in  that 


66  "IS  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?" 

same  text  (2  Cor.  5:18-21),  a  reconciliation  that  depends 
on  the  sinner's  willingness  to  "be  reconciled." 

"God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Him- 
self, not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.  .  .  . 
Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though 
God  did  beseech  you  by  us:  we  pray  you  in  Christ's 
stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  Verse  20. 

Here  are  the  two  reconciliations.  One  accomplished 
for  man  without  his  faith  or  knowledge,  the  other  ac- 
complished in  man  when  he  shall  hear  and  believe  the 
reconciliation  by  which  he  was  reconciled  before  he  be- 
lieved, and  while  he  was  yet  an  enemy. 

And  it  is  this  blessed  Gospel, — that  God  has  recon- 
ciled the  world  unto  Himself  by  the  death  of  His  Son, — 
that  the  true  ambassador  preaches  to  the  world  before  he 
beseeches  the  world,  "be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 

"Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  God 
loved  us,  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins."  1  Jno.  4:  10.  "We  love  Him  because  He  first 
loved  us."  Verse  19.  "The  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee 
to  repentance."  Rom.  2 :  4. 

This  is  the  divine  order  of  true  gospel  preaching. 
"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  [the 
good  news]  to  every  creature."  The  good  news  of  what? 
— the  good  news,  that  while  we  were  enemies  we  were 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son.  The  good 
news,  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
Himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.  The 
good  news,  that  He  hath  made  Christ  to  be  sin  for  us 
that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him. 
The  good  news,  that  He  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  espe- 
cially of  them  that  believe. 

And  not  only  is  this  the  divine  order  of  true  Christian 
preaching,  it  is  the  divine  order  of  true  Christian  living. 
"For  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  His  com- 


'75*  CHRIST  UNDER  LAW  TODAY?"  67 

mandments;  and  His  commandments  are  not  grevious." 
1  Jno.  5 :  3. 

Any  commandment-keeping  that  does  not  spring  from 
love  to  God  because  He  first  loved  us  and  sent  His  Son 
to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins, — while  we  were  ene- 
mies, even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins, —  and  reconciled 
us  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son,  is  not  commandment- 
keeping  in  the  sight  of  God,  but  the  filthy  rags  of  our 
own  self-righteousness.  Commandment-keeping  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  earning  salvation,  and  yet  the  whole  object 
of  the  plan  of  salvation  is  the  transforming  of  the  lawless, 
loveless  enemy  of  God  into  a  loyal,  loving,  obedient  friend 
of  God.  But  while  law-keeping  has  nothing  to  do  in 
purchasing  salvation,  it  does  have  something  "to  do  in 
pointing  out  the  one  who  has  accepted  this  salvation. 
"Hereby  we  know  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His 
commandments.  He  that  saith,  I  know  Him,  and  keep- 
eth  not  His  commandments,  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  him."  1  Jno.  2 :  3,  4. 


XII 
"I  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE  " 


But  has  not  the  Apostle  Paul  clearly  "proved  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  that  they  are  all  under  sin?"  Rom. 
3 : 9.  Yes ;  but  this  he  did  as  a  preparation  for  proving 
all  to  be  under  grace.  For  the  proclamation  of  grace  was 
only  for  those  whose  sinning  has  brought  them  under 
sin.  If  there  was  one  man  who  could  prove  that  he  was 
never  under  sin,  that  man  would  thereby  prove  that  he 
had  no  part  in  the  pardoning  grace. 

Note  the  following  illustration.  We  will  suppose  that 
I  am  sent  as  a  herald  to  announce  to  the  colored  people 
of  the  South,  the  gospel  or  good  news  that  they  are  all 


68  "/  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE" 

freed  men.  I  go  to  the  market  place  and  begin  to  read 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  and  soon  have  gathered 
about  me  a  great  multitude  of  colored  people  whose 
earnest  faces  show  an  intense  interest,  but  who  hesitate 
to  believe  the  proclamation  because  it  seems  too  good  to 
believe.  I  am  called  upon  to  read  it  again,  and  I  read 
the  following: 

"Now,  therefore  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested 
as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against 
the  authority  and  government  of  the  United  States,  .  .  . 
on  this  first  day  of  January  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  three,  ...  do  ordain 
and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said 
designated  states,  and  parts  of  states,  are,  and  henceforth 
shall  be  free;  and  that  the  executive  government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authori- 
ties thereof  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of 
said  persons." 

When  I  reach  this  point,  the  multitude,  believing  the 
truth  of  the  proclamation,  break  forth  in  the  most  en- 
thusiastic manifestations  of  rejoicing.  The  shout  is  heard 
on  every  side,  "I  am  free,  I  am  not  a  slave!  Praise  the 
Lord,  Brother  Jones,  I  am  free,  and  you  are  free,  and 
Mary  Ann  is  free,  the  children  are  free,  and  we  are  all 
free, — free  forever.  Praise  the  Lord!" 

But  there  is  one  colored  man  who  addresses  me  in  a 
haughty,  self-satisfied  manner,  thus:  "Stranger,  your 
mission  does  not  interest  me.  It  is  doubtless  all  very 
well  for  those  who  need  it.  But  it  does  not  concern  me, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  I  am  not  a  slave  and  never 
was  a  slave." 

"But  are  you  not  a  colored  man?" 

"Certainly." 


"/  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE"  69 

"And  are  you  not  a  native  of  this  state?" 

"Yes." 

"And  have  you  been  set  free  by  your  master?" 

"No.    Did  I  not  tell  you  that  I  never  was  a  slave." 

"But  if  you  are  a  colored  man,  a  native  of  this  state, 
and  have  never  been  set  free,  you  are  certainly  in  need 
of  this  proclamation,  for  according  to  the  laws  of  this 
state,  which  have  been  sustained  by  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  you  have  no  rights 
which  a  white  man  is  bound  to  respect." 

"But  I  insist  that  I  am  not  a  slave  and  consequently 
am  not  included  in  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  and 
hence  am  not  personally  interested  in  it." 

I  cannot  interest  this  man  in  the  proclamation  of  lib- 
erty until  I  first  convince  him  that  he  is  in  need  of  the 
proclamation.  To  do  this  I  must  lay  aside  for  the  pres- 
ent the  proclamation,  and  undertake  to  convince  him  that 
he  is  a  slave.  I  am  for  the  time  being  viewing  him  as 
he  insists  on  viewing  himself,  that  is, — outside  the  proc- 
lamation. 

The  truth  is,  that  he  is  included  in  the  proclamation 
even  though  he  denies  it.  But  in  order  that  this  truth 
may  become  a  blessing  to  him,  he  must  first  realize  his 
slavery.  Now,  while  I  do  not  lose  sight  for  a  moment  of 
the  fact  that,  viewed  through  the  proclamation  he  is  a 
freed  man,  I  begin  to  deal  with  him  from  his  own  point 
of  view,  and  call  his  attention  to  the  law  which  most  pos- 
itively pronounces  him  a  slave,  with  no  more  right  than 
the  common  beast  of  burden,  and  also  to  the  fact  that 
should  he  attempt  to  escape  and  succeed  in  crossing  the 
boundary  line  into  a  free  state,  the  "Fugitive  Slave  Law" 
would  follow  him  and  return  him  to  his  master  to  suffer 
added  punishment  for  his  attempt  to  escape.  At  last  I 
am  able  to  convince  him  of  his  condition  under  the  law, 
and  then  with  a  groan  of  despair  he  cries  out,  "O 


70  "/  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE" 

wretched  slave  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this 
bondage  of  death  ?" 

Then  seizing  my  proclamation,  I  declare  to  the  man 
with  all  the  earnestness  of  my  soul,  "You  are  delivered. 
You  are  a  freed  man.  You  are  not  a  slave.  This  procla- 
mation declares  that  you  are  a  free  man  and  all  the  power 
of  the  republic  is  pledged  to  protect  you  in  the  enjoyment 
of  that  freedom." 

Now,  the  man  is  interested  in  the  proclamation.  It 
now  concerns  him.  He  is  glad  now  to  know  that  he  is 
included  in  the  proclamation.  He  believes  the  proclama- 
tion and  rejoices  in  his  freedom. 

This  illustration  explains  all  the  seeming  contradic- 
tions in  Paul's  epistles  concerning  the  question  of  "un- 
der law"  and  "not  under  the  law."  In  the  first  part  of 
his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  he  proves  "all  under  sin," — 
"all  under  law,"— "all  the  world"  "guilty  before  God." 
But  in  doing  this  he  is  describing  the  whole  world's  con- 
dition outside  the  proclamation;  their  condition,  were 
there  no  proclamation  of  pardon,  and  this  he  does  in  order 
to  prepare  all  to  appreciate  and  receive  by  faith  the  par- 
don which  is  already  theirs  in  the  gospel  proclamation 
which  he  bears.  "The  Scripture  hath  concluded  all  under 
sin  that  the  promise  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  might 
be  given  to  them  that  believe."  Gal.  3 :  22.  "God  hath 
concluded  them  all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy 
upon  all."  Rom.  11 :  32,  33. 

If  the  colored  man  in  the  illustration  had  realized  that 
under  the  law,  without  the  emancipation  proclamation,  he 
was  a  hopeless  slave,  it  would  not  have  been  necessary  to 
prove  to  him  that  he  was  under  the  law.  The  only  rea- 
son for  proving  him  under  the  law  was  to  show  him  his 
true  condition  were  there  no  proclamation.  He  was  not 
proved  a  slave  in  order  to  contradict  the  plain  statement 
in  the  proclamation  that  he  is  a  freedman,  but  to  show 


"/  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE"  71 

him  his  condition  of  hopeless  slavery  were  there  no 
emancipation  proclamation. 

And  in  like  manner,  if  all  those  for  whom  Paul's 
epistles  were  written  had  realized  that  under  the  law, 
without  the  gospel  proclamation  of  pardon, — which  is 
"to  all  and  upon  all  them  that  believe," — they  were  hope- 
lessly condemned  to  death,  it  would  not  have  been  neces- 
sary to  prove  them  "all  under  sin."  And  the  only  rea- 
son for  proving  them  under  the  law,  was  to  show  them 
their  true  condition  were  there  no  gospel  proclamation. 

Paul  does  not  conclude  all  under  sin  in  order  to  con- 
tradict his  proclamation  which  declares  all  under  pardon- 
ing grace,  but  to  show  them  their  hopeless  condition  were 
there  no  gracious  proclamation  proclaiming  them  par- 
doned. 

Not  only  does  Paul  not  use  the  law  to  deny  the  free- 
dom found  in  his  proclamation,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  uses  the  law  to  mark  men  as  free.  Note  this  illustra- 
tion: 

It  is  December  31,  1862,  the  day  before  the  President 
of  the  United  States  issued  the  famous  Emancipation 
Proclamation.  Knowing  that  the  proclamation  is  to  be 
issued  on  the  following  day,  let  us  go  into  a  southern 
city  to  see  some  of  the  many  slaves  who  will  be  pro- 
claimed free  on  the  morrow.  As  we  stroll  down  the 
street,  you  say  to  me,  'There  is  a  slave,  there  is  another, 
and  there  is  a  third.  These  will  be  free  tomorrow." 

"How  do  you  know  these  particular  persons  will  be 
included  in  the  proclamation?" 

"Because  they  are  slaves." 

"But  how  do  you  know  they  are  slaves?" 

"Because  of  the  color  of  their  skin." 

"Then  are  all  the  people  who  are  colored,  slaves?" 

"Yes,  all  the  people  who  are  colored  are  slaves,  and 
all  the  slaves  are  to  be  proclaimed  free  tomorrow." 


72  "/  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE" 

On  the  day  after  the  proclamation  was  issued,  Jan- 
uary 2,  1863,  we  are  again  in  the  same  city,  walking  down 
the  same  street,  looking  at  the  same  people.  But  now 
you  say  to  me,  "There  is  a  freed  man, — 'there  is  another, 
and  there  is  a  third." 

"But  how  do  you  know  they  are  freed  men?" 

"Because  they  were  slaves." 

"But  how  do  you  know  they  were  slaves  ?" 

"Because  of  the  color  of  their  skin." 

"Then  the  color  of  their  skin  is  now  a  sign  that  they 
have  been  proclaimed  free?" 

"Certainly.  That  which  was  a  sign  of  their  slavery  on 
Wednesday,  is  on  Friday  a  sign  of  their  freedom.  And 
those  who  were  not  included  as  slaves  on  Wednesday,  are 
now  excluded  from  the  proclamation  of  freedom  on 
Friday." 

And  thus  it  is  with  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel. 
Only  sinners  are  pardoned  by  the  proclamation.  And 
more :  that  thing  which  was  a  sign  of  the  slavery  of  the 
sinner  apart  from  salvation,  now  marks  him  as  a  partaker 
in  the  pardon  of  the  proclamation  made  by  the  Prince  of 
Peace. 

It  was  this  truth  which  led  Paul  to  exclaim,  "Hence- 
forth know  we  no  man  after  the  flesh!'  To  know  a  col- 
ored man  after  the  color  of  his  flesh  on  Wednesday  was 
to  know  him  as  a  slave,  but  on  Friday,  this  same  color 
viewed  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  proclamation, 
marks  him  a  freed  man.  To  know  a  man  after  the  flesh 
apart  from  the  cross,  was  to  know  him  as  a  helpless,  hope- 
less slave  of  sin.  But  since  One  died  for  all  and  hence 
all  died,  and  since  all  are  now  free, — "for  he  that  is 
dead  is  freed  from  sin," — we  now  know  no  man  after 
the  flesh.  On  the  contrary,  while  the  flesh  was  a  sign 
of  slavery,  now  this  same  sinful  flesh  marks  the  man 
as  one  who  has  been  included  in  the  proclamation  of 


"/  NEVER  WAS  A  SLAVE"  73 

pardon.  It  is  the  sinner  who  has  been  proclaimed  free. 
Let  the  sinners  come.  Whosoever  will,  let  him  come. 
Sinner,  that  sinful  flesh  which  Satan  declared  separated 
you  from  the  plan  of  salvation,  is  now  the  very  evi- 
dence that  you  are  included  in  the  proclamation  of  par- 
don. 

Praise  the  Lord  for  His  gracious  proclamation! 
Reader,  "you  are  not  under  law,  but  under  grace."  "The 
law  entered  that  sin  might  abound,  but  where  sin 
abounded  grace  did  much  more  abound."  The  law  was 
not  given  by  God  nor  used  by  the  Apostle  Paul  to  con- 
tradict the  universal  proclamation  of  the  cross,  but  to 
reveal  the  sinning  of  the  sinner  and  drive  him  to  the 
cross. 


XIII 
"SHALL  WE  SIN  TO  SHOW  WE  ARE  FREE?" 

But  since  sin  is  the  sign  that  the  sinner  is  included 
in  the  gracious  proclamation  of  pardon,  does  it  not  fol- 
low that  we  should  continue  in  sin,  continue  to  transgress 
the  law  to  show  that  we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace? 

Before  answering  this  question,  I  want  to  take  this 
opportunity  to  deal  in  a  general  way  with  the  conclusion 
which  has  always  been  drawn  by  certain  inexperienced 
persons,  from  the  teachings  of  those  who  preach  a  full 
gospel, — that  is,  that  they  make  void  the  law. 

Now  it  is  impossible  to  preach  the  Gospel  so  plainly 
as  to  escape  this  wrong  conclusion.  Paul  understood 
this.  Yet  he  did  not  shun  to  declare  the  whole  truth 
even  though  he  knew  that  by  declaring  it,  there  would 
be  those  who  would  wrest  his  writings  to  their  own  de- 
struction as  they  had  the  other  Scriptures. 


74       "  SHALL  WE  SIN  TO  SHOW  WE  ARE  FREE?" 

If  it  were  possible  to  preach  the  Gospel  so  as  to  avoid 
this  conclusion  on  the  part  of  some,  Paul  certainly  would 
have  so  preached  it.  For  no  apostle  preached  the  gospel 
more  fully  or  more  plainly  than  did  he.  The  fact  is,  the 
path  of  the  faithful  preacher  of  a  full  Gospel  runs  dan- 
gerously close  to  the  soul-destroying  precipice,  marked 
"Law  made  void  by  grace,"  "the  law  abolished  by  Christ," 
"law-keeping  is  bondage,"  "law-breaking  is  liberty." 

But  shall  we  hesitate  to  follow  the  path  because  of  its 
proximity  to  the  precipice  ?  To  fail  to  follow  the  path  is 
tc  perish  without  the  gospel.  Paul  pushed  on  in  the 
path,  warning  the  people  of  the  presence  of  the  precipice 
as  he  passed.  At  one  time  the  path  seems  to  lead  to  the 
precipice,  "Do  evil  that  good  may  come";  but  with  a 
warning  not  to  take  that  path,  and  with  the  declaration 
that  those  who  reported  that  he  was  following  that  path 
were  slandering  him  (Rom.  3:8),  he  presses  on  only 
again  to  come  near  the  yawning  gulf,  "The  law  made 
void" ;  but  he  hurries  on  with  the  warning  statement  that 
he  is  not  on  the  path  which  leads  to  the  law  made  void  by 
faith,  but  on  that  path  which  leads  to  the  establishing  of 
the  law.  A  little  later  his  divine  logic  leads  him  so  close 
to  the  danger  point  again  that  he  calls  out,  "Shall  we 
continue  in  sin  [in  transgression  of  the  law]  that  grace 
may  abound?"  to  which  he  quickly  answers,  "God  for- 
bid." Rom.  6:1,  15,  16. 

Again,  he  is  brought  so  close  to  the  precipice  where 
it  is  entered  by  the  path,  "The  law  is  sin,"  that  he  is  led 
to  cry  out,  "Is  the  law  sin? — God  forbid.  Nay,  I  had 
not  known  sin  except  the  law  had  said,  thou  shalt  not 
covet.  .  .  .  the  law  is  holy,  just,  and  good.  .  .  .  For 
we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual:  but  I  am  carnal,  sold 
under  sin."  Rom.  7 :  7-14. 

But  why  not  take  a  path  far  removed  from  these  dan- 
ger points  ?  Because  there  is  no  other  path  for  him  who 


" SHALL  WE  SIN  TO  SHOW  WE  ARE  FREE?"       75 

would  preach  the  whole  gospel.  And  the  preacher  whose 
preaching  is  of  such  a  character  as  not  to  call  forth  these 
warnings  against  the  delusion  of  an  abolished  decalogue, 
is  not  preaching  the  gospel  which  Paul  preached. 

Is  Paul  to  blame  ?  Or,  to  put  it  more  plainly :  is  the 
Holy  Spirit,  by  whose  wisdom  the  apostle  spake  and 
wrote,  to  blame  because  all  the  no-law  teachers,  from 
that  day  to  this,  base  their  authority  for  an  abolished 
law  upon  the  writings  of  the  Apostle  Paul?  If  Paul  is 
not  to  blame  for  the  false  deductions  which  some  have 
made  from  his  Spirit-inspired  epistles,  is  the  teacher  who 
follows  the  same  path  today  responsible  for  a  similar 
result? 

With  this  word  of  explanation,  the  writer  will  pro- 
ceed to  unfold  the  gospel,  regarding  it  as  an  evidence 
that  he  is  following  the  same  path  which  Paul  followed 
when  the  presentation  of  the  same  precious  truth  makes 
it  necessary  to  warn  the  hearer  against  the  same  old 
error. 

Since  the  sinning  of  the  sinner  is  an  evidence  that 
he  is  included  in  the  universal  proclamation  of  pardon, 
does  it  not  follow  that  he  should  continue  to  sin,  continue 
to  transgress  the  law,  in  order  to  show  that  he  is  de- 
livered from  the  law  and  is  now  under  grace? 

Ought  the  colored  man  to  continue  to  serve  his  mas- 
ter as  a  slave  in  order  to  prove  that  he  is  one  of  those 
included  in  the  proclamation  which  emancipated  the 
slaves?  By  no  means.  While  the  continued  servitude  of 
the  colored  man  would  show  that  he  is  one  of  those  who 
had  been  proclaimed  free,  it  would  also  show  that  as  yet 
he  had  realized  no  benefits  from  the  proclamation.  The 
proclamation  was  not  made  merely  to  change  the  names 
of  men  from  that  of  "slaves"  to  that  of  "freedmen,"  and 
then  leave  them  in  servitude  to  their  old  master. 

In  like  manner,  while  the  sinning  of  the  sinner  shows 


76       " SHALL  WE  SIN  TO  SHOW  WE  ARE  FREE?" 

that  he  is  one  of  those  for  whom  Christ  died,  and  one 
for  whom  the  abounding  grace  has  been  proclaimed,  yet 
his  sinning  shows  that  as  yet  he  has  .not  received  the 
benefits  of  abounding  grace.  For  the  grace  of  God  was 
not  given  merely  to  change  the  names  of  men  from 
"slaves  of  sin"  to  "sons  of  God,"  and  then  leave  them  to 
continue  slaves  of  sin. 

In  the  fifth  of  Romans,  Paul  preaches  the  gospel  so 
broadly  as  to  prove  all  the  world  under  grace,  and  that 
their  abounding  sin  has  been  met  by  a  far  more  abound- 
ing grace.  But  having  reached  this  climax  in  his  glor- 
ious gospel,  he  stops,  and  devotes  the  sixth  chapter  to 
meeting  the  antinomian  heresy  that  abounding  grace 
gives  license  to  continue  to  transgress  the  law. 

"Shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound? 
God  forbid.  How  shall  we,  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any 
longer  therein?"  He  then  appeals  to  their  baptism  to 
meet  this  heresy.  Don't  you  know,  he  continues,  that 
those  of  you  who  were  baptized,  thereby  showed  that  you 
were  sharers  in  the  death  of  Christ  who  died  for  sin- 
ners? And  when  you  arose  from  your  baptism,  do  you 
not  know  that  you  showed  thereby  that  you  shared  in 
the  new  life,  now  free  from  sin,  with  which  Christ  arose 
from  the  dead?  Does  a  dead  man  continue  to  live  and 
act  as  he  did  before  he  died?  It  was  the  old  man,  the 
carnal  nature,  that  was  not  subject  to  the  law,  neither 
indeed  could  be,  that  had  to  be  killed  because  he  was  an 
incurable  law-breaker;  and  it  was  the  death  and  burial 
of  this  old  man,  and  the  birth  of  the  new  man  that  was 
celebrated  by  baptism.  Shall  we  then  continue  the  old 
man's  law-breaking  in  order  to  emphasize  our  freedom 
in  the  gospel?  In  other  words,  "Shall  we  continue  in 
sin  that  grace  may  abound?" 

While  it  is  true  that  the  man  who  sins  is  still  under 
grace,  and  because  he  is  under  grace,  his  sinning  does 


"SHALL  WE  SIN  TO  SHOW  WE  ARE  FREE?"       77 

not  bring  him  under  law  (if  it  did,  he  would  perish  the 
moment  he  sinned,  because  the  wages  of  sin  is  death), 
it  is  also  true  that  he  has  not  yet  realized  the  grace  which 
he  is  under.  The  grace  of  God  not  only  saves  us  from 
the  penalty  of  our  past  transgressions  of  the  law,  but 
through  grace  a  new  life  is  given  to  save  us  from  con- 
tinued law-breaking.  The  abounding  grace  of  God  in  the 
death  of  Christ  who  tasted  death  for  every  man,  was  a 
decree  of  absolute  divorce  from  the  old  carnal  nature, 
and  from  all  his  transgressions  which  he  had  trans- 
gressed in  us,  but  we  were  not  "made  dead  to  the  law 
through  the  body  of  Christ," — nor  divorced  from  the 
carnal  man, — in  order  that  we  might  live  a  single  life, 
but  that  we  might  "be  joined  to  another,  even  to  Him 
who  was  raised  from  the  dead,  that  we  might  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God.  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the 
sinful  passions,  which  were  through  the  law,  wrought  in 
our  members  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death.  But  now 
we  have  been  discharged  from  the  law,  having  died  to 
that  wherein  we  were  holden,  so  that  we  serve  in  new- 
ness of  the  spirit,  and  not  in  oldness  of  the  letter."  Rom. 
7:4-6.  (R.  V.) 

"Sin  [law-breaking]  shall  not  have  dominion  over 
you ;  for  ye  are  not  under  law  but  under  grace.  What 
then?  shall  we  sin  [transgress  the  law]  because  we  are 
not  under  law,  but  under  grace?  God  forbid.  Know  ye 
not,  that  to  whom  ye  present  yourselves  as  servants  unto 
obedience,  his  servants  ye  are  whom  ye  obey,  whether 
of  sin  [law-breaking]  unto  death  or  obedience  [law- 
keeping]  unto  righteousness."  Rom.  6:14-16.  (R.  V.) 


78  A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK 


XIV 


A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK  ON  A  BONDMAN'S  BACK 

(Illustrated) 

Hear  this  parable :  It  is  twilight,  and  the  governor  of 
a  great  American  state,  with  his  only  son,  his  private 
secretary,  is  about  to  leave  his  office,  when  there  is  a 
gentle  knock  at  the  door,  which  when  opened  reveals  the 
frail  form  of  a  widowed  mother  whose  sorrowing  face 
pleads  piteously  through  a  tear-stained  veil. 

Touched  by  the  evidence  before  him  of  the  woes  of 
widowhood,  the  kind-hearted  governor,  with  that  frank- 
ness and  freedom  characteristic  of  western  life,  extends 
his  hand,  and  with  reassuring  tenderness  in  his  tones, 
says:  "Come  in,  mother,  take  this  easy  chair.  And  now 
what  can  I  have  the  pleasure  of  doing  for  you?" 

Encouraged  by  this  kindness,  she  pours  forth  in  sub- 
dued sobs  the  petition  of  her  agonized  heart : 

"O  give  me  the  life  of  my  son,  my  only  son ;  my  poor 
sinning  son.  O  give  me  the  life  of  my  boy!  He  is  the 
only  child  of  his  widowed  mother.  O  save  his  life  from 
the  hangman's  hand,  lest  I  go  desolate,  crushed,  child- 
less into  the  grave !" 

The  governor,  with  mingled  pity  and  perplexity  pic- 
tured on  his  face, — for  he  now  realizes  that  he  is  in  the 
presence  of  the  mother  of  a  murderer  who  is  to  be 
hanged  on  the  morrow, — after  a  pai'nful  pause,  speaks, 
but  with  pleading  tenderness : 

"But,  mother,  did  not  your  son  have  a  fair,  impartial 
trial?  Was  he  not  justly  convicted,  and — now  be  honest 
— do  you  not  yourself  believe  that  he  committed  the  crime 
for  which  he  has  been  sentenced  to  die?" 


80  A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK 

"O  governor,  I  am  not  asking  for  justice,  I  am  plead- 
ing for  mercy.  O  give  me  the  life  of  my  wayward,  sin- 
ning boy !" 

"But,  mother,  is  not  the  law  which  punishes  murder  a 
good  law?  and  must  it  not  be  enforced  for  the  safety  of 
the  people,  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  government? 
Do  you  want  the  law  abolished,  or  what  would  be  the 
same  thing,  to  remain  unenforced  in  order  to  save  your 
son?  Do  you  not  see  that  if  the  law  were  abolished  or 
ignored,  only  anarchy  would  follow?  Can  you  not  see 
this,  mother?" 

"O  yes,  I  see  it,  I  understand  it  all.  The  law  is  good 
and  ought  to  be  and  must  be  enforced,  but  he  is  my  only 
son,  my  only  child.  I  cannot,  O  I  cannot  return  to  that 
dreary  cottage,  a  desolate,  childless  widow.  O  give  me 
the  life  of  my  son,  my  only  son !" 

"How,  mother?   Tell  me  how." 

"O  it  is  so  easy,  governor.  Take  your  pen  and  write 
a  pardon  for  him,  and  stamp  it  with  the  seal  of  state, 
and  I  can  take  that  bit  of  paper  and  go  to  the  prison,  and 
with  it  pass  through  the  great  iron  gates,  and  with  it  I 
can  open  the  door  of  that  cell  which  holds  my  son;  and 
with  it  I  can  save  his  life.  O  it  will  cost  you  nothing  to 
write  it,  while  to  withhold  it  will  cost  me  my  all!  O 
grant  a  widow's  petition  and  pardon  my  son !" 

"Yes,  mother,  it  is  easy  to  write  a  pardon;  but  if  I 
pardon  all  those  who  are  convicted  of  crime,  we  might  as 
well  have  no  law,  for  the  criminals  would  soon  learn  that 
were  they  detected  in  their  crimes, — were  they  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  pay  the  penalty, — all  they  would  need  to 
do  would  be  to  petition  the  governor  and  obtain  par- 
don. Can  you  not  see  that  to  pardon  all  law-breakers 
would  make  void  the  law,  and  introduce  anarchy,  as 
surely  as  to  abolish  the  law? 

"Yes,  I  can  understand  it  all.    But  is  there  no  way  to 


ON  A  BONDMAN'S  BACK  81 

save  my  son,  my  only  son  ?  Must  he  perish,  and  I  return 
alone?  Must  I  live  and  die  childless  and  desolate?  O 
my  son,  my  son!  Would  God  I  could  die  for  thee,  my 
son,  my  son !" 

The  mother's  prayer  is  prayed,  her  strength  is  spent, 
and  she  now  sits  in  silence,  the  silence  of  despair. 

This  is  as  far  as  the  parable  can  proceed  with  real 
life  experience  for  a  foundation.  But  we  must  carry  it 
farther  without  a  foundation  in  fact. 

At  length  the  governor's  son,  who  has  been  a  silent 
listener  to  the  pathetic  pleadings  of  the  mother,  and  the 
faultless,  infallible  reasoning  of  his  father's  reply,  now 
breaks  the  oppressive  silence  with  the  hopeful  words: 

"Father,  I  have  a  plan  whereby  you  can  not  only  save 
to  this  mother  her  son,  but  at  the  same  time  establish 
and  magnify  the  law." 

"But  how,  my  son?" 

"Write  the  pardon  for  which  the  mother  pleads,  and 
at  the  same  time  write  an  order  committing  me  as  a 
substitute  for  the  son,  to  the  same  cell;  and  when  the 
death  watch  is  passed,  and  the  hour  of  execution  is 
called,  I  will  answer  to  the  name  of  the  widow's  son,  and 
die  in  his  stead.  When  the  people  hear  of  it,  they  will 
with  one  voice  exclaim,  'Behold !  how  the  governor  loved 
the  widow's  wayward  son' ;  and  in  the  next  breath  they 
will  cry,  'In  what  high  esteem  he  holds  the  law !  Rather 
than  lessen  in  the  least  its  just  claims  on  the  life  of  the 
lawless,  he  has  enforced  it  to  the  letter  on  the  life  of 
his  only  son.  He  saved  the  widow's  son  and  magnified 
the  law.' " 

It  now  lies  with  the  father  to  decide  whether  he  will 
make  the  sacrifice.  He  sees  the  science  of  State  in  the 
suggestion  of  his  son,  but  the  staggering  price  to  be  paid ! 

But  he  pays  the  price.  The  pardon  is  granted,  and  the 
criminal  is  free.  The  warrant  is  written  and  the  son  as 


82  A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK 

a  substitute  stands  at  the  cell  of  the  pardoned  sinner. 
Will  the  prisoner  accept  the  substitute?  The  governor's 
son  unbars  the  door  and  passes  into  the  presence  of  the 
pardoned  man,  and  places  in  his  hand  the  pardon,  saying 
as  he  does  it : 

"You  are  my  father's  freed  man,  he  has  paid  for  your 
life;  I  am  his  prisoner,  the  price  he  has  paid.  You  are 
his  son,  and  I  am  the  criminal.  Your  prison  garb  is 
mine,  and  my  garments  are  yours.  Your  tarnished  name 
is  mine,  and  my  father's  honored  name  is  yours.  Take 
them  and  go  free.  I  ,have  taken  your  place  with  its  pen- 
alty, and  will  pay  the  price  on  the  morrow." 

The  widow's  son  stands  surprised  and  staggered.  He 
reads  the  pardon.  He  listens  in  silence  to  the  statement 
of  his  substitute ;  then  with  grinding  teeth  to  subdue  into 
silence  the  voice  of  a  long-lost  chord  in  a  crime-calloused 
heart,  he  says,  with  firmness  of  tone : 

"I  thank  you  for  the  kindness  you  have  shown  me. 
My  heart  is  calloused  with  many  crimes,  but  I  would 
have  you  know  that  I  can  still  recognize  so  marvelous  a 
manifestation  of  unselfish  love.  But  I  cannot  accept  it. 
I  will  answer  the  hangman's  call  myself  and  let  this 
crime-stained  life  atone  with  its  own  blood.  I  cannot 
accept  freedom  on  the  terms  you  offer." 

"But  why  not?  Are  not  the  terms  all  you  could  de- 
sire? What  more  could  you  ask?" 

"O  my  friend,  I  must  have  more.  You  are  asking 
me  to  place  a  freeman's  frock  on  a  bondman's  back.  If 
I  button  that  coat  over  this  brutal  breast,  it  will  not  be 
a  fortnight  before  I  will  be  back  to  this  cell,  having 
stained  the  coat  with  fresh-wrought  crimes.  I  must  have 
more.  If  I  take  your  father's  name  with  my  frightful 
nature  it  will  be  a  farce,  and  I  will  but  foul  your  father's 
name,  and  find  myself  before  a  fortnight  again  in  fet- 
ters. If  you  could  give  me  your  heart  when  you  give 


ON  A  BONDMAN'S  BACK  83 

me  your  coat, — if  you  could  give  me  your  nature  when 
you  give  me  your  name,  then  there  would  be  hope.  But 
to  ask  me  to  button  that  stainless  coat  over  this  stony 
heart, — to  ask  me  to  carry  an  honored  name  above  a 
crime-stained  nature,  is  but  to  put  a  freeman's  frock  on 
a  bondman's  back.  O  I  must  have  more." 

The  governor's  son  is  speechless.  He  has  no  answer 
to  make  to  the  demand  of  the  widow's  son.  He  can  give 
him  his  coat,  but  he  cannot  give  him  his  heart.  He  can 
give  him  his  name,  but  he  cannot  give  him  his  nature. 

Here  the  curtain  falls,  to  be  lifted  in  the  next  chap- 
ter on  another  scene,  involving  not  the  human  law  of  an 
earthly  State,  but  the  Divine  law  of  the  universe;  not 
the  life  of  a  widow's  son,  but  the  life  of  the  Son  of  God. 


XV 

A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK  ON  A  BONDMAN'S  BACK 
(Applied) 

The  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  the  Ancient  of  Days,  is 
seated  upon  his  throne.  His  only  begotten  Son  sits  at 
His  right  hand.  A  swift-winged  angel  approaches  with 
the  startling  message  that  the  children  of  earth  have 
sinned, — transgressed  the  Royal  Law.  The  wages  of 
sin  is  death,  and  the  sentence  hangs  heavy  over  the  heads 
of  the  guilty  world. 

Without  questioning  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  "For 
he  knoweth  the  end  from  the  beginning,"  let  us  suppose 
that  a  council  was  called  to  deal  with  the  sinners  of 
earth.  Had  there  been  an  unwise  angel  at  that  council, 
he  might  have  suggested  that  the  sins  of  the  children  of 
earth  be  passed  by  without  notice,  since  it  would  be  too 
sad  to  think  of  inflicting  the  death  penalty  upon  the  sin- 
ning pair.  But  that  counsel  could  not  be  accepted,  be- 


84  A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK 

cause,  if  followed,  it  would  bring  anarchy  into  the  uni- 
verse of  God. 

Another  might  have  suggested  that  the  law  be  abol- 
ished, and  thus  the  sinner  would  be  saved.  But  no;  that 
counsel  could  not  be  followed,  for  if  the  holy  law  were 
abolished  to  save  the  sinner,  it  would  but  exalt  sin  and 
degrade  righteousness.  Another  might  have  proposed 
that  pardon  be  granted  them  and  that  the  matter  thus 
be  passed  by.  But  pardon  without  punishment  would 
reflect  on  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  and  subtract  from 
the  seriousness  of  sin  as  surely  as  would  the  abrogation 
of  the  law.  No;  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  there 
is  no  remission  of  sins. 

The  Son  might  have  said,  "Father,  I  have  a  plan  by 
which  to  save  the  sinning  world,  and  at  the  same  time 
magnify  the  law  and  the  Law-giver.  This  is  the  plan: 
Pardon  the  sinners  and  place  their  sins  upon  me.  I  will 
carry  the  accursed  load  to  the  Cross  of  Calvary.  I  will 
pay  the  penalty.  I  will  die  as  a  substitute  for  the  sin- 
ning world.  Then,  when  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  shall  hear  of  it,  they  will  exclaim :  'Behold  how  the 
Father  loved  the  sinners  of  earth;  rather  than  see  them 
perish,  he  placed  their  sins  upon  His  only  Son  and  sac- 
rificed Him  as  their  substitute.'  With  the  same  voice  they 
will  cry,  'Behold  how  highly  He  holds  the  Royal  Law! 
Rather  than  lessen  the  seriousness  of  sin  by  excusing  the 
penalty  of  the  law,  He  has  executed  that  penalty  to  the 
last  letter  upon  His  only  begotten  Son.  He  has  saved  a 
sinning  world  by  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son,  and  magnified 
the  majesty  of  the  law  and  the  mercy  of  the  Law-giver.'  " 

O  the  Divine  Statesmanship  displayed  in  this  plan! 
But  O  the  staggering  sacrifice  demanded  from  Divinity ! 

It  is  now  left  with  the  Father  to  make  the  surpassing 
sacrifice.  There  is  no  hesitation,  for  the  Father  and  Son 
are  one  in  the  origin  and  execution  of  the  plan.  "For 


ON  A  BONDMAN'S  BACK  85 

God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish 
but  have  everlasting  life."  "God  was  in  Christ  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  Himself."  John  3 :  16,  and  2  Cor. 
5:19. 

The  gift  is  given,  the  Son  is  sent.  And  the  Father's 
Son,  with  a  free  pardon  for  a  world  in  one  hand  and  an 
order  for  His  own  execution  in  the  other,  appears  on  the 
threshold  of  earth's  prison  house,  unlocks  the  door  and 
sets  its  captives  free. 

"I,  the  Lord,  have  called  thee  in  righteousness,  and 
will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will  keep  thee,  and  give  thee 
for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles ; 
to  open  the  blind  eyes,  to  bring  out  the  prisoners  from 
the  prison,  and  them  that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the 
prison  house."  Isa.  42 : 6,  7. 

"The  spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  he 
hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek ; 
he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  pro- 
claim liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the 
prison  to  them  that  are  bound."  Isa.  61 :  1,  2. 

"And  he  came  to  Nazareth,  where  he  had  been 
brought  up:  and  he  entered,  as  his  custom  was,  into  the 
synagogue  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  stood  up  to  read. 
And  there  was  delivered  unto  him  the  book  of  the 
Prophet  Isaiah.  And  he  opened  the  book,  and  found  the 
place  where  it  was  written,  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is 
upon  me,  because  he  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings 
tc  the  poor:  he  hath  sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the 
captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at 
liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  proclaim  the  acceptable 
year  of  the  Lord.'  And  he  closed  the  book,  and  gave  it 
back  to  the  attendant,  and  sat  down;  and  the  eyes  of  all 
in  the  synagogue  were  fastened  upon  him.  And  he  be- 
gan to  say  unto  them,  'Today  hath  this  Scripture  been 


86  A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK 

fulfilled  in  your  ears/  And  all  bear  him  witness,  and 
wondered  at  the  words  of  grace  which  proceeded  out  of 
his  mouth."  Luke  4:  14-22.  (R.  V.)  . 

The  proclamation  of  pardon,  which  wras  once  based 
upon  the  coming  of  the  Christ  to  the  Cross  of  Calvary, 
is  now  based  upon  the  accomplished  fact  of  his  cruci- 
fixion. The  Lamb  of  God  on  whom  the  Father  by  his 
own  hands  "hath  laid  .  .  .  the  iniquities  of  us  all, ' 
bruised  and  bleeding  beneath  His  burden,  bears  "the  sins 
of  the  whole  world,"  from  the  gloom  and  groans  of  the 
garden  to  the  piercing  cry  of  the  cross. 

"It  is  finished."  The  penalty  is  paid,  not  alone  in 
promise,  but  now  in  performance.  When  that  thorn- 
pierced  head  bowed  low  on  that  lifeless  breast,  and  his 
soul  was  made  "an  offering  for  sin,"  the  penalty  was 
paid,  the  pardon  was  proclaimed,  and  the  prisoners  freed. 
"For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  because  we  thus 
judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died."  2  Cor. 
5:14.  (R.  V.)  "He  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin." 
Rom.  6 : 7. 

It  is  with  this  Gospel  of  deliverance,  this  emancipation 
proclamation,  that  the  risen  Christ,  by  His  Spirit,  now 
comes  to  the  children  of  men  proclaiming  "release  to  the 
captives,"  through  the  free  pardon  purchased  by  His 
blood. 

But  He  comes  with  more  than  a  pardon  for  the  past. 
No  man  can  meet  Him  with  the  objection  of  the  widow's 
son,  no  man  can  refuse  the  pardon  on  the  ground  that 
he  must  carry  a  freedman's  name  with  a  bondman's  na- 
ture. God  never  gives  to  a  Jacob  a  change  of  name  with- 
out giving  him  at  the  same  time  a  change  of  nature. 

Through  His  abounding  grace,  God  in  Jesus  Christ 
has  changed  a  sinning  world  from  slaves  of  sin  to  sons 
of  God.  But  He  does  not  ask  men  to  take  the  new  label 
without  the  new  life.  Multitudes  are  doing  this  today 


ON  A  BONDMAN'S  BACK  87 

to  the  dishonor  of  God,  and  the  denial  of  His  deliver- 
ance. 

"In  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come.  For  men 
shall  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous,  boasters, 
proud,  .  .  .  lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  lovers  of 
God ;  having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power 
thereof."  2  Tim.  3:1-5.  They  are  but  wearing  a  free- 
man's frock  on  a  bondman's  back. 

Under  grace,  the  world  is  given  not  only  pardon  for 
past  transgressions  in  the  death  of  Christ,  but  power  for 
the  present  in  the  life  of  the  living  Christ.  "For  if,  while 
we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through 
the  death  of  His  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  shall 
we  be  sared  by  His  life."  Rom.  5:10.  (R.  V.) 

"For  in  that  He  died,  He  died  unto  sin  once;  but  in 
that  He  liveth,  He  liveth  unto  God.  Likewise  reckon  ye 
also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Rom.  6:  10. 

"A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit 
will  I  put  within  you:  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony 
heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of 
flesh.  And  I  will  put  my  spirit  within  you,  and  cause 
you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judg- 
ments and  do  them."  Eze.  36:  26,  27. 

"The  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  For  what 
the  law  could  not  do  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the 
flesh,  God  sending  His  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful 
flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh,  that  the 
righteousness  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who 
walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  spirit."  Rom. 
8 :  2-4. 

"But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so 
be  that  the  spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.  Now,  if  any  man 


88  A  FREEMAN'S  FROCK 

have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His."  Rom. 
8:9. 

"I  am  crucified  with  Christ;  nevertheless  I  live;  yet 
not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me;  and  the  life  which  I  now 
live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God, 
who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  Gal.  2 : 20. 

From  all  this  it  is  made  plain  that  the  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  blessed  God  does  not  ask  men  to  place  a  free- 
man's frock  on  a  bondman's  back;  but  with  the  new 
name  it  gives  the  new  nature;  with  the  new  linen  gar- 
ment the  new  gift  of  life.  Any  Gospel,  therefore,  whose 
salvation  stops  short  of  fulfilling  or  doing  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  law  in  the  life  of  the  redeemed  man  by  means 
of  the  indwelling  Christ,  is  not  the  glorious  Gospel  of 
the  blessed  God.  The  presence  of  the  life  of  God  means 
the  presence  of  the  law  of  God. 


XVI 
MAKING  FREEMEN  BY  FORCE 

Though  it  has  cost  the  Father  the  life  of  His  only 
begotten  Son  to  deliver  man  from  the  law  which  he  has 
transgressed,  and  placed  him  under  grace,  yet  man  is  left 
free  to  yield  himself  a  servant  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of 
obedience  unto  righteousness.  And  herein  lies  a  divine 
truth  which  exhibits  one  of  the  unalterable  attributes  of 
God,  whose  government  is  founded  not  on  slavish  fear, 
but  on  the  loyalty  of  love.  God  could  not  force  man  to 
receive  free  grace  without  thereby  enslaving  him. 

Let  me  illustrate:  Although  the  government  of  the 
United  States  proclaimed  the  freedom  of  its  slaves  and 
provided  for  the  maintenance  of  their  freedom  at  such 
terrible  cost  of  life  and  treasure,  it  could  not  force  a 
single  slave  to  accept  his  freedom.  It  could  place  a  mil- 


MAKING  FREEMEN  BY  FORCE  89 

lion  men  on  the  field  of  battle.  It  could  meet  the  most 
skillful  of  military  men  and  take  the  strongest  fortifica- 
tions, defended  by  the  bravest  of  men.  It  could  meet 
the  destroying  Merrimac  with  the  terrible  Monitor.  It 
could  make  the  slave  master's  land  a  wilderness,  and 
sweep  with  the  besom  of  destruction  from  Atlanta  to  the 
sea,  but  it  could  not  force  freedom  upon  a  single  freed- 
man. 

If  the  freedman  chose  to  remain  in  slavish  servitude 
to  his  old  master,  the  government  was  powerless  to  pre- 
vent it  without  thereby  enslaving  him.  The  government 
might  remove  the  colored  man  to  another  State,  but 
when  he  was  released  he  could  return  to  his  old  master. 
The  government  might  then  transplant  him  to  the  most 
distant  State  in  the  Union,  but  on  releasing  him,  there 
was  nothing  to  prevent  his  returning. 

Manifestly,  the  only  way  to  prevent  his  returning  to 
his  old  master,  and  continuing  his  former  slavery,  if  he 
were  disposed  to  return,  would  be  to  keep  him  in  prison. 
But  in  that  case  the  government  would  be  delivering  him 
from  one  form  of  bondage  only  to  force  him  into  an- 
other. 

Although  the  God  of  Heaven  has  paid  such  an  in- 
finite price  in  blood  and  treasure  to  emancipate  a  race  of 
slaves  of  Satan,  yet  he  cannot  force  that  freedom  upon 
the  freedman.  He  will  have  no  forced  service.  He 
seeketh  only  such  to  worship  Him  who  worship  Him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  He  could  make  war  on  the  slave- 
master,  Satan;  He  could  hurl  the  armies  of  Heaven 
against  the  armies  of  hell ;  He  could  see  His  only  begot- 
ten Son,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  perish,  pierced  and  bleed- 
ing, at  the  hands  of  the  hosts  of  darkness ;  He  could  pay 
this  surpassing  price  for  the  purchase  of  man's  pardon; 
but  when  all  this  was  done,  He  could  only  plead  and  pray 
in  the  person  of  His  apostles,  "Be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 


90  MAKING  FREEMEN  BY  FORCE 

One  shudders  when  it  is  realized  that  the  punishment  of 
the  rejectors  of  grace  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  price 
paid  for  their  pardon. 

And  here  we  have  reached  the  unpardonable  sin. 


XVII 
FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY 

Notwithstanding  that  Christ  "His  own  self  bore  our 
sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree" ;  notwithstanding  that 
the  "Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all" ;  not- 
withstanding that  "He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins; 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world";  notwithstanding  that  "God  was  in  Christ,  rec- 
onciling the  world  unto  Himself,  not  imputing  their  tres- 
passes unto  them" ;  notwithstanding  that  "He  was  made 
sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin" ;  notwithstanding  that 
"Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  be- 
ing made  a  curse  for  us";  notwithstanding  that  "He 
tasted  death  for  every  man" ;  notwithstanding  that  all 
this  was  done  for  us  before  we  knew  it ;  notwithstanding 
that  "while  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us,"  and 
"while  (R.  V.)  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to 
God  by  the  death  of  His  Son"; — notwithstanding  that 
all  this  has  been  done  for  us,  and  will  never  be  undone, 
but  will  stand  throughout  eternity  as  an  everlasting 
monument  to  God's  mercy  to  sinful  man,  yet  no  man 
will  profit  by  this  unsearchable  grace  who  does  not  ac- 
cept it  by  faith. 

It  was  through  unbelief,  and  disobedience  that  al- 
ways follows  unbelief,  that  Adam  enslaved  the  world. 
And  although  Christ  has  redeemed  the  world  from  that 
slavery  by  paying  the  price  of  their  redemption, — death, 
yet  He  will  not  force  this  freedom  upon  any  man.  He 


FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY  91 

did  not  force  Adam  to  believe,  but  left  him  free  to  be- 
lieve his  Creator  and  be  free,  or  believe  the  slave-master 
and  become  a  bondman. 

So  today,  while  God  has  redeemed  the  world  from 
the  slavery  into  which  Adam  sold  it,  yet  He  will  not 
force  this  freedom  upon  any  man.  The  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  blessed  God  places  every  man  on  the  same  van- 
tage ground  where  Adam  stood,  with  this  advantage, 
that  man  has  seen  and  experienced  the  results  of  sin, 
an  experience  which  Adam  had  not  experienced  before 
the  fall. 

To  have  forced  Adam  to  believe,  in  the  beginning, 
would  have  made  of  him  a  mere  machine  with  no  more 
responsibility  than  any  other  machine.  And  this  is  one 
reason  why  salvation  is  by  faith,  and  not  by  force.  If 
salvation  were  by  force,  then  all  worship  of  God  would 
be  forced  worship.  But  God  does  not  find  pleasure  in 
mechanical,  formal  worship.  "But  the  hour  cometh,  and 
now  is,  when  the  true  worshipers  shall  worship  the 
Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth:  for  the  Father  seeketh 
such  to  worship  Him."  John  4:  23. 

But  while  salvation  is  of  faith,  and  no  part  of  the 
gift  of  grace  will  profit  the  sinner  unless  he  accepts  it 
by  faith,  yet  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  faith  does 
not  earn  salvation,  nor  does  it  add  a  particle  to  the  grace 
already  given, — to  the  work  already  finished, — to  the  lib- 
erty already  proclaimed. 

When  a  sinner  believes,  God  does  not  need  to  lay 
the  sinner's  sins  upon  his  Son,  and  send  Him  again  to 
the  cross  to  suffer;  "For  then  must  he  often  have  suf- 
fered since  the  foundation  of  the  world ;  but  now  once 
in  the  end  of  the  world,  hath  he  appeared  to  put  away 
sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  Heb.  9:26.'  "But  this 
man,  after  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever, 
sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God ;  from  henceforth  ex- 


92  FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY 

pecting  till  his  enemies  be  made  his  footstool.  For  by 
one  offering  he  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are 
sanctified."  "Now  where  remission  of  these  is,  there  is 
no  more  sacrifice  for  sins."  Heb.  10:  T2-14,  18. 

No,  faith  does  not  make  it  necessary  for  God  to  re- 
peat his  finished  work.  The  faith  of  the  sinner  simply 
appropriates  what  is  already  given  him  in  Christ, — that 
which  has  been  his  all  his  life:  yes,  that  which  was  his 
before  he  was  born :  yes,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

This  truth  is  illustrated  by  the  emancipation  of  the 
American  slaves.  It  was  while  they  were  slaves  that  they 
were  emancipated.  It  was  not  because  of  anything  they 
had  done  or  would  do  that  they  were  set  free.  They 
were  proclaimed  free  without  consulting  them  as  to 
whether  they  desired  to  be  free,  or  whether  they  would 
accept  the  freedom  were  it  granted.  And  when  the  col- 
ored man  believed  the  proclamation  that  had  made  him 
free,  it  did  not  make  it  necessary  for  the  government  to 
make  a  new  proclamation  to  perfect  his  freedom.  When 
the  President  had  made  one  proclamation,  he  had  finished 
making  free  the  slaves  included  in  that  proclamation. 
His  work  from  that  time  on  was  to  maintain  for  the 
colored  man  the  freedom  which  he  had  given  him  in 
that  proclamation.  Manifestly,  if  the  first  proclamation 
making  the  colored  man  free,  was  not  true,  and  could 
not  be  maintained,  it  would  be  useless  to  issue  another 
proclamation  to  make  him  free.  A  second  proclamation 
would  only  be  an  admission  that  the  first  was  a  failure. 

And  just  as  the  faith  of  the  colored  freedman  ap- 
propriated the  freedom  which  was  already  his  by  the 
proclamation,  so  the  redeemed  sinner  appropriates  what 
is  already  his  by  the  proclamation  of  the  cross. 

And  just  as  the  colored  man  who  did  not  believe  that 
he  was  proclaimed  free,  lived  the  rest  of  his  days  a 


FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY  93 

freed  man  in  bondage,  so  the  sinner  who  refuses  to 
believe  the  proclamation  of  liberty  making  him  free 
through  the  cross  of  Calvary,  will  live  the  rest  of  his 
days  a  redeemed  man  in  bondage. 

Just  as  the  President  of  the  United  States  would  not 
revoke  his  proclamation  in  behalf  of  those  who  would 
not  believe  it,  but  would  let  the  proclamation  stand  as  a 
witness  to  the  righteousness  of  the  government,  and 
would  leave  the  colored  man  to  suffer  the  results  of  his 
unbelief,  so  the  God  of  all  grace  will  not  revoke  the 
proclamation  of  freedom  through  forgiveness  of  sins  in 
behalf  of  those  who  refuse  to  believe,  but  will  leave  the 
proclamation  standing  as  an  everlasting  witness  to  the 
righteousness  of  God,  and  leave  the  unbelieving  man  to 
suffer  the  results  of  his  unbelief. 

It  is  impossible  to  revoke  the  groans  of  the  Garden, 
the  agonizing  cries  of  Calvary,  and  the  shameful  death 
of  the  Cross.  Forever  the  fact  will  remain  that  the  Son 
of  God  suffered  and  died  for  a  sinning  world.  It  will 
ever  remain  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
unto  Himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them. 
For  the  everlasting  vindication  of  God  and  His  righteous 
judgments,  it  will  forever  remain  that  "while  we  were 
enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through  the  death 
of  His  Son."  This  glorious  truth  will  never  be  revoked, 
it  can  never  be  revoked  without  revoking  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  But  if  the  sinner  refuses 
to  accept  this  great  salvation,  it  will  forever  remain 
that  he  refused  to  accept  the  freedom  which  was  so 
freely  given  him. 

Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God.  In  the 
light  of  Calvary's  Cross,  unbelief  becomes  a  terrible  sin. 
How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation! 
The  sin  of  refusing  to  take  freedom  so  freely  given  is 
the  sin  for  which  lost  man  will  suffer.  He  will  not  suffer 


94  FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY 

because  in  Adam  he  was  born  a  sinner,  nor  because  as  a 
slave  of  the  Adam  nature  he  sinned.  He  will  suffer  be- 
cause he  neglected  to  be  saved;  because  he  refused  to 
receive  a  salvation  which  was  given  him  at  the  cost  of 
the  life  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 

Since  unbelief  is  the  sin  which  ruins  the  world,  let 
us  put  away  our  unbelief.  And  since  faith  in  the  procla- 
mation of  liberty  pleases  God,  let  us  please  Him  now,  and 
believe  that  He  has  reconciled  us  to  Himself  by  the  death 
of  His  Son. 

And  just  as  the  responsibility  of  maintaining  the  free- 
dom of  the  colored  man,  declared  in  the  proclamation, 
rested  upon  the  government  of  the  United  States,  the 
author  of  the  proclamation,  provided  the  colored  man 
accepted  the  freedom ;  just  so  the  responsibility  of  main- 
taining the  freedom  of  the  slave  of  sin  declared  in  the 
proclamation  of  the  Gospel,  rests  on  the  government  ot 
God,  the  Author  of  our  salvation,  provided  the  sinner  by 
faith  accepts  his  salvation.  It  is  our  part  to  believe  the 
proclamation  and  receive  our  freedom.  It  is  God's  part 
to  keep  us  free.  And,  "Whom  the  Son  makes  free  is 
free  indeed." 

The  truth  of  this  chapter  will  explain  a  scripture 
which  to  some  has  been  obscure.  It  is  this:  "All  things 
whatsoever  ye  pray  and  ask  for,  believe  that  ye  have  re- 
ceived them,  and  ye  shall  have  them."  Mark  11 :  24,  R.  V. 
The  simple  explanation  is  that  already  God  "hath  blessed 
us  with  all  spiritual  blessing  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ." 
Eph.  1:3.  It  is  the  part  of  faith  to  appropriate  these 
spiritual  blessings.  And  the  more  liberally  men  take  of 
these  blessings  the  more  is  the  God  of  all  grace  pleased. 
It  was  that  we  might  freely  take  them  and  freely  enjoy 
them  that  they  were  so  freely  given  us  in  Christ. 

The  writer  was  presenting  this  blessed  truth  in  its 
relation  to  both  soul  and  body  healing,  and  was  calling 


FREEDOM  BY  FAITH  ONLY  95 

upon  those  present  to  accept  the  gift  of  healing  already 
given  in  Christ,  when  all  of  a  sudden  a  lifelong  sufferer, 
who  for  years  had  suffered  from  dropsical  swellings  and 
from  heart-weakness,  whose  bowels  had  not  performed 
their  functions  for  six  years  without  artificial  aid,  saw 
the  truth  and  claimed  by  faith  the  healing  which  was 
already  hers  in  Christ.  Instantly  she  was  healed,  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  her  unspeakable  joy.  A  short  sketch  of 
her  life  and  suffering,  and  how  she  received,  by  faith, 
healing  of  soul  and  body,  will  be  found  in  Chapter  XLV. 
The  writer  sympathizes  with  those  who  have  been  led 
to  discredit  these  professed  healings  because  of  so  much 
that  will  not  bear  close  investigation.  But  after  more 
than  eighteen  months'  observation  of  this  case,  the  last 
six  of  which"  was  at  close  range,  the  healed  one  being 
for  that  time  a  member  of  the  writer's  household,  he  is 
able  to  give  his  unqualified  endorsement  to  the  state- 
ments concerning  her  healing  which  are  here  made. 
"This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith."  1  John  5  :  4. 


XVIII 
BURYING  THE  BONDMAN;   OR,  FAITH  AT  WORK 

Reader,  have  you  believed  in  Christ?  have  you  be- 
lieved in  Him?  not  in  the  general,  indefinite  way  which 
usually  passes  for  faith  but  which  is  not  faith  at  all. 
Do  you  really  believe  in  Christ  with  a  personal,  clearly 
defined  faith? 

Do  you  believe  that  when  the  Father  laid  on  Him  the 
iniquities  of  us  all,  He  laid  your  iniquities  on  Him? 

Do  you  believe  that  when  He  bore  our  sins  in  His  own 
body  on  the  tree,  He  bore  your  sins? 


96  BURYING  THE  BONDMAN, 

Do  you  believe  that  when  He  tasted  death  for  every 
man  He  tasted  death  for  you? 

Do  you  believe  that  "one  died  for  all,  therefore  all 
died,"  and  that  you  were  one  of  the  "all"  for  whom  He 
died? 

Do  you  believe  that  His  death  was  counted  your 
death?  and  when  He  was  dead  God  reckoned  you  dead 
in  Him? 

Do  you  believe  that  when  the  Son  of  God  was  dead, 
God  reckoned  Him  free  from  the  penalty  of  the  sins  for 
which  He  suffered? 

Do  you  believe  that  God  reckoned  you  as  suffering  in 
His  Son? — reckoned  you  dead  when  His  Son  was  dead? 
— reckoned  you  free  when  His  Son  was  free? 

Do  you  believe  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ 
died  for  us?  while  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled 
to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son?  Do  you  believe  that 
while  you  were  a  sinner  Christ  died  for  you,  and  while 
you  were  an  enemy  you  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  His  Son? 

Do  you  believe  that  you  were  reconciled  to  God  by 
the  death  of  His  Son  long  before  you  knew  it,  and  while 
you  were  still  His  enemy? 

Do  you  believe  that  God  waited  for  you  to  believe  all 
this  and  receive  your  reconciliation  and  be  reconciled? 

And  do  you  believe  that  when  your  substitute  was 
buried  in  Joseph's  new  tomb  you  were  reckoned  buried 
in  Him? 

Do  you  believe  that  as  "He  was  delivered  for  our 
offenses,"  so  "He  was  raised  again  for  our  justification"? 

Do  you  believe  that  when  He  was  raised  from  the 
dead,  you  were  in  Him  raised  from  the  dead? 

Do  you  believe  that  when  the  Father  gave  His  Son 
the  life  by  which  He  came  forth  from  the  grave,  He  gave 
that  new  life  to  you  in  Him  ? 


OR  FAITH  AT  WORK  97 

Have  you  obeyed  the  command  of  scripture,  "Reckon 
ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive 
unto  God"?  Have  you  reckoned  as  God  has  reckoned? 
Have  you  reckoned  yourself  dead  to  sin  by  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  alive  unto  God  by  the  life  which  raised  Christ, 
your  substitute,  from  the  dead  ? 

Have  you  believed  ? 

You  answer,  "Yes,"  and  that  is  right.  God  is  pleased 
to  have  you  thus  answer,  for  without  faith  it  is  impos- 
sible to  please  God.  But  have  you  given  expression  to 
your  faith  in  all  this?  Christ  has  provided  a  means  by 
which  you  may  express  your  faith  in  the  death,  burial 
and  resurrection  of  Christ  for  you.  Have  you  permitted 
your  faith  to  express  itself  in  the  way  He  has  com- 
manded? 

Have  you  ever  wondered  why — in  the  New  Testament 
— so  much  importance  is  attached  to  baptism?  It  is  be- 
cause baptism  is  the  Lord's  appointed  way  by  which  faith 
ir  the  Gospel  is  acted  out  in  the  life.  Faith  which  is  not 
given  a  chance  to  manifest  itself  in  action  will  die.  And 
that  which  professes  to  be  faith,  but  which  refuses  to  act 
in  the  Lord's  appointed  way  is  not  faith ;  for  faith  with- 
out works  is  dead.  Faith  cannot  be  seen  except  when  it 
appears  in  works.  And  all  the  faith  you  have  must  ap- 
pear in  works,  or  perish.  To  the  vain  man  who  would 
show  the  apostle  James  faith  without  works,  James  an- 
swered, "I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works."  James 
2:18. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  men  are  commanded  to  be 
baptized.  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 
Mark  16:15,  16. 

Why  is  it  that  baptism  is  coupled  with  faith  as  the 
way  of  salvation?  Is  there  any  power  in  water  to  save 


98  BURYING  THE  BONDMAN, 

from  .sin? — No,  none  whatever;  but  he  who  believes  the 
Gospel  must  and  will  show  that  faith  by  the  obedience  of 
faith,  which  is  baptism.  The  commandment  to  be  bap- 
tized when  rightly  understood  means  that  he  that  be- 
lieveth  the  good  news  that  Christ  died  for  him,  was 
buried  for  him,  and  rose  for  him,  and  then  through  the 
death,  burial  and  rising  of  baptism  expresses  that  faith, 
shall  be  saved. 

There  is  no  salvation  in  forms  and  ceremonies;  no 
salvation  in  the  mere  act  of  baptism.  Baptism  is  not 
essential  to  salvation,  but  in  salvation.  There  is  salvation 
in  allowing  the  faith  of  God  to  work  in  us  both  to  will 
and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure.  And  it  is  His  good 
pleasure  that  when  we  believe  that  Christ  was  delivered 
for  our  offenses  and  rose  again  for  our  justification,  we 
should  show  our  faith  in  His  appointed  way  by  being 
buried  with  Him  and  rising  again  with  Him  to  walk  in 
newness  of  life.  In  the  light  of  this  truth  the  scripture 
found  in  Romans  6  is  full  of  meaning. 

"What  shall  we  say  then?  Shall  we  continue  in  sin, 
that  grace  may  abound?  God  forbid.  How  shall  we, 
that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein?  Know  ye 
not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  in  Jesus  Christ 
were  baptized  into  His  death  ?  Therefore  we  are  buried 
with  Him  by  baptism  into  death ;  that  like  as  Christ  was 
raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even 
so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  For  if  we 
have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  His  death, 
we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  His  resurrection." 
Verses  1-5. 

Baptism  when  fully  understood  is  a  simple  expression 
of  faith  in  the  whole  gospel.  First  of  all,  we  are  called 
upon  to  reckon  ourselves  dead.  But  why  do  we  reckon 
ourselves  dead  ?  Simply  because  in  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
we  see  ourselves  "  born  in  sin"  and  therefore  unfit  to  live. 


OR  FAITH  AT  WORK  99 

We  therefore  reckon  ourselves  dead  because  we  have  first 
come  to  reckon  ourselves  unfit  to  live.  This  is  where  the 
test  comes.  In  this  we  are  called  upon  to  repudiate  our 
carnal  life,  that  which  was  born  of  the  flesh ;  and  this,  to 
the  old  man,  is  crucifying.  Every  instinct  of  the  Adam 
nature  protests  against  this  judgment  upon  the  old  man. 
And  it  is  at  this  point  that  so  many  fail.  This  path  is  too 
humbling,  and  they  seek  some  other  broader  way. 

But,  reader,  it  was  because  your  sinful  nature  and 
your  sins  had  made  you  unfit  to  live,  that  Christ  your 
substitute  was  crucified  for  you.  When  He  had  loaded 
Himself  with  your  nature  and  with  your  sins,  He  counted 
Himself  unfit  to  live;  and  willingly  laid  down  His  life. 
And  now  are  you  going  to  stand  in  your  pride  at  the  foot 
of  Calvary  and  let  Him  climb  the  hill  alone?  Are  you 
going  to  count  yourself  too  good  to  die,  while  He  who 
took  your  nature  and  your  sins  was  counted  unworthy  to 
live? 

No,  no!  Take  your  place  in  your  sin-bearing  Sub- 
stitute and  let  your  faith  follow  Him  up  the  hill.  Take 
your  place  in  Him  when  He  is  nailed  to  the  cross.  Reckon 
yourself  with  Him  unworthy  to  live.  Reckon  yourself 
in  Him  dead  indeed  unto  sin.  And  then  you  may  reckon 
yourself  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

He  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted.  Then 
you  will  be  able  to  cry  with  the  exultant  apostle  Paul,  "I 
was  [R.  V.]  crucified  with  Christ;  nevertheless  I  live; 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me:  and  the  life  which  I 
now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  for  me."  Gal. 
2:20. 

Reader,  have  you  reckoned  yourself  born  in  sin  and 
therefore  unworthy  to  live  ?  Have  you  gone  further  and 
reckoned  yourself  as  having  died  when  He  died?  If  so, 
your  next  step  is  to  reckon  yourself  in  need  of  a  burial. 


100  BURYING  THE  BONDMAN, 

But  here  is  the  test  again.  Must  I  express  my  faith 
in  this  truth  publicly?  Must  I  be  baptized  publicly? 
Must  I  publicly  repudiate  my  old  life  by  the  act  of  burial 
with  Christ  by  baptism? 

If  this  thought  causes  you  to  shrink  from  this  public 
repudiation  of  the  old  carnal  nature,  it  is  evident  that  you 
are  still  making  an  effort  to  shield  your  old  life,  whose 
sins  crucified  your  blessed  Lord. 

Stop  a  moment.  Has  your  life  been  lived  in  public?  You 
have  not  lived  all  your  life  in  solitary  confinement  where 
no  eye  could  see  you.  As  certainly  as  your  life  has  been 
lived  in  view  of  even  the  few, — perhaps  your  family  and 
a  very  few  friends, — just  so  certainly  has  your  life  been 
seen  with  the  sinful  fruits  which  it  has  borne.  Are  you 
too  proud  to  show  that  you  have  repudiated  that  life  as 
unworthy  continued  existence?  Are  you  too  proud  to  say 
to  the  world  that  you  have  accepted  the  blessed  gift  of 
God,  the  life  of  His  Son?  All  this  drawing  back  from 
baptism  is  a  sure  sign  of  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the 
glorious  gift  of  God  given  in  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  His  Son. 

Suppose  you  were  to  be  hanged  tomorrow  for  some 
crime  committed;  suppose  at  midnight  while  you  are 
pacing  the  floor  in  agony  of  mind, — in  expectation  that 
the  dawn  of  the  morning  would  bring  you  death,  a  mes- 
senger should  come  to  your  cell  with  the  words,  "I  have 
glad  tidings  for  you,  and  you  have  been  pardoned.  All  that 
is  asked  of  you  is  that  you  acknowledge  your  crime,  ac- 
knowledge that  you  are  worthy  of  death  and  show  by  be- 
ing publicly  baptized,  that  you  have  reckoned  yourself  un- 
worthy to  live, — that  you  admit  the  justice  of  your  sen- 
tence of  death,  and  that  you  repudiate  your  old  life  and 
begin  a  new  life" ;  would  you  begin  to  quibble  about  the 
conditions  and  ask  if  the  baptism  might  not  be  performed 
in  private?  or  if  it  might  not  be  done  in  some  way  so  as 


OR  FAITH  AT- WORK'-  '  ioi 

not  to  get  your  clothing  wet  ?  or  at  least  if  the  water  could 
not  be  warmed  on  account  of  the  shock  which  the  cold 
water  would  give  to  your  nerves? 

If  I  were  the  bearer  of  the  glad  tidings  and  you  would 
begin  thus  to  quibble,  I  would  be  greatly  disappointed, 
and  be  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  you  did  not  appre- 
ciate the  salvation  that  I  had  brought  you. 

In  like  manner  all  quibbling  at  the  command  of  God 
for  baptism  as  an  expression  of  our  faith  and  our  accept- 
ance of  the  unspeakable  grace  of  God  in  the  gift  of  His 
Son,  is  but  a  sad,  unmistakable  sign  that  the  quibbler 
utterly  fails  to  appreciate  the  great  salvation  so  freely 
given  in  the  Cross  of  Calvary.  It  is  an  evidence  that  the 
objector  is  not  dead  to  the  world,  not  dead  to  sin. 

Herein  lies  another  important  truth.  Our  Saviour 
was  not  buried  in  order  to  crucify  Him.  He  was  buried 
because  He  was  crucified.  He  was  not  buried  to  make 
sure  that  He  was  dead,  but  He  was  buried  because  His 
friends  were  sure  that  He  was  dead.  People  are  not 
buried  to  kill  them  nor  to  make  sure  that  they  are  dead ; 
but  because  they  are  dead,  and  their  burial  is  a  proof  that 
their  friends  are  persuaded  that  they  are  dead. 

Those  who  are  buried  in  the  likeness  of  Christ's  death 
are  not  buried  in  order  to  crucify  them  or  to  make  sure 
that  they  are  dead  to  sin;  but  as  an  expression  of  their 
faith  in  the  fact  that  they  are  dead.  They  must  first 
reckon  themselves  dead  and  then  follow  their  Lord  in 
baptism.  And  when  they  are  really  dead  to  the  world, 
to  its  pride,  to  its  applause,  to  its  opinions,  there  will  be 
no  hesitation  about  being  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism. 

Come,  dear  reader,  if  you  have  not  yet  reckoned 
yourself  dead  to  the  world,  do  it  now.  Or  if  you  have 
reckoned  yourself  dead,  but  have  not  as  yet  given  pub- 
lic expression  to  your  faith  in  this  fact,  in  God's  ap- 
pointed way,  hasten  to  do  it.  You  will  find  a  great  bless- 


102  BURYING- THE  BONDMAN, 

ing  in  this  "obedience  of  faith."  "Faith  without  works  is 
dead."  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved, 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 


XIX 

THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

Seeing  then  the  Father  "hath  laid  on  Him  [His  Son] 
the  iniquity  of  us  all"  (Isa.  53:6),  and  "He  is  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world"  (1  John  2:2);  inasmuch  as 
He  "taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world"  (John  1:29), 
and  "He  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us"  (2  Cor.  5 : 
21),  and  "the  wages  of  sin  is  death"  (Rom.  6:  23)  ;  and 
seeing  that  "while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for 
us"  (Rom.  5:8)  ;  since  He  by  the  grace  of  God  tasted 
death  for  every  man  (Heb.  2:9);  seeing  that  "while 
we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through  the 
death  of  His  Son"  (Rom.  5:10,  R.  V.),  and  "were  made 
dead  to  the  law  through  the  body  of  Christ"  (Rom.  7:  4, 
R.  V.)  ;  and  since  "we  have  been  discharged  from  the 
law,  having  died  to  that  wherein  we  were  holden"  (Rom. 
7:6,  R.  V.)  ;  "Because  we  thus  judge  that  One  died  for 
all,  therefore  all  died"  (2  Cor.  5:14,  R.  V.)  ;— seeing 
that  all  this  is  true,  how  is  it  that  sinners  will  be  pun- 
ished for  their  sins  in  the  "day  of  judgment  and  perdi- 
tion of  ungodly  men"  ?  2  Peter  3 :  7. 

Has  not  death,  the  penal  price  of  sin,  been  paid  on 
behalf  of  the  whole  world,  in  its  substitute,  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world?  Does 
God  demand  the  payment  of  a  debt  twice,  once  in  His 
Son,  and  again  in  the  sinner?  Can  God  demand  a  sec- 
ond payment  of  a  debt  from  the  sinner  without  throwing 
discredit  on  the  payment  of  His  Son? 


THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  103 

That  the  sinner  by  his  sinning  incurs  a  debt  which  can 
be  discharged  only  by  the  payment  of  that  debt,  either 
in  the  person  of  the  sinner  or  his  Substitute,  is  clearly 
the  Bible  doctrine  of  sin  and  its  punishment. 

The  word  "redemption,"  both  in  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament,  stands  for  a  purchasing  back  of  that 
which  was  sold.  Read  the  following  proof  texts : 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  ye  have  sold  yourself  for 
naught;  and  ye  shall  be  redeemed  without  money."  (Isa. 
52 :  3.)  "The  law  is  spiritual,  but  I  am  carnal,  sold  under 
sin."  (Rom.  7:14.)  "Feed  the  church  of  God,  which  He 
hath  purchased  with  His  own  blood."  (Acts  20:28.) 
"Ye  are  bought  with  a  price;  therefore  glorify  God  in 
your  body,  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's."  (1  Cor. 
6:  20.)  "Ye  were  redeemed,  not  with  corruptible  things, 
with  silver  or  gold,  from  your  vain  manner  of  life  handed 
down  from  your  fathers;  but  with  precious  blood,  as  of 
a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the  blood 
of  Christ."  1  Pet.  1 : 18,  19.  R.  V. 

Inasmuch  then,  as  the  price  of  the  sinner's  redemp- 
tion,— death, — has  been  paid  by  the  death  of  Christ, 
wherein  is  the  justice, — to  say  nothing  of  mercy,  in  de- 
manding a  second  payment  in  the  death  of  the  sinner? 

Fearing  to  admit  the  truth  so  plainly  stated  in  the 
foregoing  scriptures,  lest  it  lead  to  the  unscriptural  doc- 
trine of  Universalism,  many  have  been  led  into  one  or 
the  other  of  the  following  errors  concerning  the  atone- 
ment: 

The  first  error  is,  that  Christ  did  not  really  suffer  the 
penalty  of  man's  transgression,  but  that  He  by  His  death 
only  furnished  a  means  whereby  the  sins  of  the  redeemed 
were  passed  on  to  meet  their  real  punishment  in  the  per- 
son of  the  Mosaic,  antitypical  scapegoat,  Satan.  This 
view  robs  Christ  of  His  glory  as  Redeemer,  and  makes 
Satan  the  real  sin-bearer  and  redeemer  of  the  world. 


104  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

The  second  error  into  which  a  fear  of  Universalism 
has  led  others  is  that  Christ  did  not  die  for  all,  but  only 
for  an  elect  few.  This  is  as  unscriptural  as  the  first  er- 
ror, and  just  as  dishonoring  to  God  and  to  His  Son, 
''who  by  the  grace  of  God  tasted  death  for  every  man." 

A  third  error  is,  that  while  Christ  did  pay  the  penalty 
of  man's  sin  by  His  death,  yet  His  death,  it  is  said,  leaves 
the  sinner,  in  himself  considered,  just  as  guilty  as  though 
Christ  had  not  died,  and  consequently  as  heavily  in  debt 
as  though  Christ  had  not  paid  the  debt.  This  again  dis- 
honors God  by  placing  Him  in  the  position  of  demand- 
ing from  the  sinner  the  payment  of  a  debt  that  has  al- 
ready been  paid.  We  would  expect  such  a  demand  from 
a  tyrant,  but  not  from  our  God  whose  ways  are  ways  of 
righteousness,  and  who  calls  upon  the  children  of  men 
to  recognize  His  righteousness. 

But,  is  a  dead  man  guilty?  The  savage  hacks  and 
cuts  the  lifeless  body  of  his  victim  as  part  of  his  pun- 
ishment; but  all  civilized  nations  consider  that  the  pen- 
alty is  paid  when  the  transgressor  is  dead.  There  is  no 
truth  of  the  gospel  more  plainly  or  positively  affirmed  in 
the  "word  of  His  grace"  than  that  the  death  of  Christ 
is  reckoned  to  be  the  death  of  the  sinner.  Christ  did 
not  die  for  His  own  sins,  for  He  never  sinned.  Conse- 
quently His  death  was  that  of  a  Substitute  for  the  sin- 
ner, and  hence  the  sinner  is  reckoned  as  having  died  when 
his  Substitute  died; — died  in  his  Substitute. 

Note  this  truth  in  the  following  scriptures:  "While 
we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through  the 
death  of  His  Son."  (Rom.  5  :  10.  R.  V.)  "His  own  self 
bare  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  be- 
ing dead  to  sins."  (1  Pet.  2:  24.)  "Ye  also  were  made 
dead  to  the  law  through  the  body  of  Christ."  Rom.  7 : 4. 
R.  V. 

"We  have  been  discharged  from  the  law,  having  died 


THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  105 

["by  the  body  of  Christ"]  to  that  wherein  we  were 
holden.  (Rom.  7:6.  R.  V.)  "For  the  love  of  Christ 
constrains  us;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  one  died  for 
all,  therefore  all  died."  2  Cor.  5 :  14.  R.  V. 

Since  God  reckons  all  dead  in  the  death  of  His  Son, 
how  can  He  demand  that  the  sinner,  who  has  once  died 
for  his  sins  in  his  Substitute,  should  die  again  for  the 
same  sins  (for  which  Christ  died)  without  thereby  de- 
manding a  second  death  from  one  who  has  already  died. 

Someone  will  begin  to  inquire  the  way  out  of  the 
seeming  difficulty.  Since  Universalism  is  unscriptural, 
and  seeing  that  Christ  did  die  for  all,  and  God  will  not 
demand  the  payment  of  the  penalty  twice,  nor  demand 
the  death  of  a  man  already  dead,  why  then  are  the 
wicked  punished  with  death,  as  they  certainly  will  be, 
according  to  the  plainest  statements  of  Scripture?  The 
following  chapters  will  explain  this  seeming  difficulty. 


XX 

WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

The  explanation  of  the  seeming  difficulty  reached  in 
the  last  chapter  lies  in  the  Bible  truth  that  while  Christ 
tasted  death  for  "every  man,"  He  did  not  taste  death  for 
every  sin  which  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  commit.  There 
is  a  sin  which  is  unpardonable,  as  will  be  seen  from  a 
careful  study  of  a  number  of  scriptures  treating  upon 
this  subject. 

Let  us  see  first  what  is  not  the  unpardonable  sin. 
From  the  writer's  experience  in  presenting  the  subject  of 
the  unpardonable  sin,  he  has  learned  that  the  listener 
who  has  a  wrong  conception  of  it,  hesitates  to  accept  the 
plainest  scriptures  for  fear  they  may  involve  him  in  that 


106       WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

terrible  sin.  This  difficulty  is  quickly  removed  by  a 
statement  of  what  the  unpardonable  sin  is  not. 

First,  sins  of  ignorance  are  not  unpardonable.  The 
Apostle  Paul  makes  this  clear  in  his  address  to  the 
Athenians. 

"The  times  of  ignorance  therefore  God  overlooked; 
but  now  He  commandeth  men  that  they  should  all  every- 
where repent."  Acts  17:30.  R.  V. 

But  the  only  way  by  which  God  can  overlook  sin  is 
in  shedding  of  blood;  "apart  from  shedding  of  blood, 
there  is  no  remission."  When,  therefore,  the  apostle 
told  the  Athenians  that  God  had  overlooked  their  sins  of 
ignorance,  he  told  them  in  reality  the  good  news  that 
the  penalty  of  those  sins  had  been  paid  in  the  death  of 
God's  Son.  Therefore,  sins  of  ignorance  are  not  among 
the  sins  that  are  unpardonable. 

Again,  the  apostle,  speaking  of  his  own  sins  of  ig- 
norance in  persecuting  the  church  of  Christ,  says: 
"Though  I  was  before  a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor, 
and  injurious:  howbeit  I  obtained  mercy,  because  I  did 
it  ignorantly  in  unbelief." 

Since  he  obtained  mercy  because  he  did  it  "ignorantly 
in  unbelief,"  it  follows  that  if  he  had  done  it  with  a  full 
knowledge  of  what  he  was  doing,  he  would  not  have 
found  mercy,  for  the  reason  that  the  sacrifice  of  Christ 
was  not  made  in  behalf  of  such  sinning.  All  the  mercy 
that  ever  will,  or  ever  can  be  manifested  toward  sinning 
man  was  manifested  at  the  cross.  The  Father  then  laid 
on  His  Son  all  the  sins  that  will  ever  be  pardoned,  "else 
must  He  often  have  suffered  since  the  foundation  of  the 
world;  but  now  once  at  the  end  of  the  ages  hath  He 
been  manifested  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Him- 
self." Heb.  9:26.  R.  V. 

Even  the  terrible  sin  of  killing  the  Prince  of  Peace 
was  pardonable  because  it  was  a  sin  of  ignorance.  This 


WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN        107 

is  clear  from  the  dying  prayer  of  our  Saviour  who 
prayed,  "Father,  forgive  them;  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do."  Luke  23 :  34. 

Thus  it  is  clearly  seen  that  sins  of  ignorance,  though 
terrible  in  their  wickedness,  were  included  in  the  sins 
which  were  laid  on  the  sinner's  sacrifice.  But  if  sins  of 
ignorance  onfy  were  placed  on  the  Sin-bearer,  there 
would  be  no  hope  of  saving  a  single  sinner,  for  where 
is  there  a  son  of  Adam  who  has  not  done  that  which  he 
knew  to  be  sin? 

Sinning  when  one  knows  it  to  be  sin  is  not  neces- 
sarily unpardonable.  It  may  be  done  in  weakness.  One 
may  know  that  a  certain  act  is  wrong,  and  yet  not  know 
how  to  obtain  the  victory  over  it.  This  is  clearly  stated 
by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans. 

First,  Paul  declares  that  there  was  a  time  when  he 
did  not  know  sin,  but  afterward  the  commandment  came 
and  revealed  to  him  the  sin  of  coveting;  then  began  the 
fight  against  his  carnal  nature.  In  this  struggle,  after 
he  knew  what  sin  is,  but  before  he  knew  how  to  obtain 
deliverance  from  his  carnal  nature,  he  describes  his  ex- 
perience thus:  "For  we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual; 
but  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin.  .  .  .  For  the  good  that 
I  would  I  do  not,  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I 
do."  Rom.  7:14,  19. 

This  sinning  is  in  one  sense  ignorance  also,  since  the 
sinner,  though  knowing  it  to  be  sin  is  as  yet  ignorant 
of  the  way  of  escape  from  the  enslaving  carnal  nature. 
But  thanks  be  unto  God  who  has  laid  on  His  Son,  not 
only  those  sins  which  were  committed  in  ignorance  of 
their  sinfulness,  but  those  also  which  were  committed  in 
ignorance  of  the  wray  of  salvation.  "For  while  we  were 
yet  weak,  in  due  season  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly. 
Rom.  5:6.  R.  V. 


108       WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

Praise  the  Lord  for  the  privilege  given  in  this  chap- 
ter (Rom.  7)  of  blaming  the  carnal  nature  for  those 
sins  which  were  committed  by  the  carnal  nature,  even 
before  we  have  found  separation  from  the  enslaving  part- 
nership. The  enslaving  carnal  nature  was  laid  upon  us 
by  the  sinning  father  of  the  race.  We  were  not  to  blame 
for  being  born  in  slavery  to  a  sinning  nature.  The  Lord 
knows  this,  and  He  therefore  permits  the  struggling  cap- 
tive who  has  with  his  "mind," — with  the  "inward  man," 
— taken  sides  with  the  holy  law  against  the  lawlessness 
of  the  "carnal  mind," — the  Lord  permits  him  to  say  even 
then,  "But  if  what  I  would  not,  that  I  do,  I  consent  unto 
the  law  that  it  is  good.  So  now  it  is  no  more  /  that  do 
it,  but  sin  which  dwelleth  in  me.  .  .  .  For  the  good 
which  I  would  I  do  not ;  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not, 
that  I  practice.  But  if  what  I  would  not,  that  I  do,  it 
is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  which  dwelleth  in  me." 
Rom.  7:16,  17,  19,20.  R.  V. 

But  while  the  Spirit  permits  the  struggling  captive  to 
blame  the  carnal  nature  with  the  sins  which  are  com- 
mitted in  him  at  this  point  in  his  experience,  yet  the  same 
Spirit  calls  such  a  man  a  "wretched  man,"  and  leads  him 
to  cry  bitterly  for  deliverance  from  the  body  of  death  to 
wrhich  he  was  enslaved  by  the  sin  of  the  first  Adam,  and 
with  which  he  must  perish  unless  by  faith  he  accepts  the 
deliverance  which  has  already  been  purchased  for  him  in 
the  death  of  Christ.  "O  wretched  man  that  I  am !  Who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?"  Rom. 
7:24. 

How  is  it  that  the  Spirit  leads  a  man  thus  enslaved 
to  blame  the  carnal  mind  for  his  sinning,  and  at  the  same 
time  leads  him  to  cry  bitterly  for  deliverance  from  the 
death  that  awaits  the  man  in  that  condition?  The  ex- 
planation lies  in  the  fact  that  the  Lord  recognizes  that  it 
is  the  "law  of  sin  and  death"  which  is  in  our  members 


WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN       109 

that  is  doing  the  sinning,  and  which  was  transmitted  to 
us  through  Adam's  transgression,  and  for  which  we  are 
not  responsible.  We  were  born  with  this  body  of  death, 
and  we  are  not  responsible  for  being  thus  born,  nor  will 
we  be  condemned  to  death  for  the  sins  which  are  com- 
mitted by  that  carnal  nature  while  we  are  seeking  sep- 
aration from  it. 

Nevertheless,  these  sins  are  our  sins,  because  wrought 
by  us.  Though  we  have  repudiated  them  in  the  mind, 
still  they  are  wrought  in  deed  by  our  sinful  nature  with 
which  we  are  still  identified,  though  desirous  of  being 
separated.  But  praise  the  Lord!  all  these  sins  of  ignor- 
ance and  weakness  were  laid  upon  the  Lamb  of  God  who 
died  for  our  sins. 

The  sin  which  is  unpardonable  will  be  the  sin  of 
finally  refusing  the  emancipation  proclamation  of  separa- 
tion from  that  carnal  nature. 

"The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." 

When  we  learn  that  there  has  already  been  given  us 
in  Christ  a  new  life  to  displace  the  old  life  with  which 
we  were  born,  and  which  is  making  us  such  wretched 
sinners,  then  if  we  deliberately  decide  to  retain  the  old 
carnal  life  and  forever  reject  "the  law  of  the  spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus,"  then  we  are  committing  the  un- 
pardonable sin.  The  Lord  does  not  blame  a  man  for  be- 
ing born  in  sin,  but  for  neglecting  or  rejecting  the  sal- 
vation which  has  been  purchased  for  him  by  the  death 
of  Christ,  whereby  he  is  set  free  from  that  slavery  into 
which  he  was  born. 

Let  us  illustrate  it :  A  young  tradesman  on  receiving 
a  legacy  by  his  father's  will  found  himself  the  junior 
partner  in  a  business  whose  senior  partner  was  a  dis- 
honest dealer,  and  who  was  constantly  bringing  the  firm 
into  disrepute  by  his  dishonest  dealings.  The  young 


110       WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

tradesman  might  justly  protest  to  the  wronged  parties 
that  he  was  not  wilfully  guilty  of  the  firm's  dishonest 
deeds  because  he  could  not  prevent  his  stronger  partner 
from  committing  the  wrongs.  The  wronged  parties 
could  exonerate  him  personally  from  a  deliberate  inten- 
tion to  do  wrong  in  the  matter,  while  still  holding  him  re- 
sponsible as  a  member  of  the  firm  for  his  share  of  the 
firm's  liabilities.  But  if,  after  the  partnersship  had  been 
k  gaily  dissolved  and  the  young  man  separated  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  inherited  partnership,  he  should  then 
choose  of  his  own  free  will  to  remain  in  the  partnership, 
or  should  deliberately  return  to  it  because  he  chose  to 
be  enslaved  rather  than  be  free,  he  could  no  longer  plead 
ignorance  or  weakness  as  a  reason  why  he  should  not 
bear  his  share  of  the  blame  and  punishment  for  the  firm's 
wrongdoings. 

We  were  born  into  a  partnership  whose  senior  part- 
ner was  lawless  from  the  beginning;  and  we  can  plead 
as  Paul  did,  first,  that  we  did  not  know  that  our  actions 
were  sinful.  After  we  have  learned  what  sin  is,  but 
before  we  have  learned  the  way  of  escape  from  the  en- 
slaving partnership,  we  can  plead  that  we  were  too  weak 
to  prevent  the  senior  partner  from  bringing  us  into  trans- 
gression of  the  law.  The  Lord  has  heard  and  will  hear 
this  plea  of  the  captive.  Moreover,  He  has  paid  our  share 
of  the  firm's  liability  in  the  death  of  His  Son,  and  has 
delivered  us  from  future  slavery  by  divorcing  us  from 
the  dishonest  partner. 

Now  we  are  called  upon  to  repudiate  the  dishonest 
deeds  of  this  partnership  into  which  we  were  born,  and 
gladly  accept  the  decree  dissolving  the  partnership.  If 
we  reject  this  deliverance,  we  thereby  decide  in  favor  of 
the  dishonest  deeds  of  the  lawless  partner.  In  heart,  we 
commit  them  again, — this  time  as  our  own  sins, — com- 
mitted willingly  in  the  full  light  of  their  sinfulness  and 


WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN       HI 

with  full  liberty  to  escape  from  them.  Thus,  by  our  own 
wilful  transgressions,  after  having  been  delivered  from 
our  inherited  slavery,  we  ourselves  would  crucify  again, 
upon  our  own  responsibility  alone,  Him  who  had  once 
been  crucified  for  our  sins  of  ignorance  and  weakness 
which  we  committed  as  slaves  to  the  Adam  nature. 

Adam,  by  his  sinning,  made  a  world  of  sinners.  We 
were  not  responsible  for  being  made  sinners,  nevertheless 
it  is  we  who  have  sinned.  Although  with  the  ''mind"  we 
hated  the  sin,  yet  with  our  flesh  we  have  sinned.  Speak- 
ing of  himself  as  a  whole,  Paul  says,  "The  evil  which  I 
would  not,  that  /  do."  It  is  not  enough  to  say  the  "I" 
of  the  inward  man  does  not  sin,  if  the  "I"  which  repre- 
sents the  whole  man,  the  whole  partnership,  continues  to 
sin.  We  must  be  saved  from  this  sinning  by  the  death 
of  Christ,  for  it  is  our  sinning,  and  without  the  shedding 
of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sin.  But  thanks  be 
unto  God  who  has  mercifully  laid  upon  His  Son  all  such 
sins  of  ignorance  and  weakness. 

Let  us  join  at  this  point  in  thanking  the  God  of  all 
grace  for  assuming  our  share  of  the  responsibility  for 
the  sins  committed  by  that  enslaving  partnership  into 
which  we  were  born.  Let  us  thank  Him  also  for  the 
decree  dissolving  that  partnership. 

And  let  us  remember  that  the  man  who  does  the 
things  which  he  hates,  is,  according  to  the  word,  a. 
"wretched  man,"  "sold  under  sin,"  chained  to  a  body  of 
death  from  which  he  must  accept,  by  faith,  the  deliver- 
ance which  has  been  given  him  in  Christ  Jesus,  or  perish 
with  that  body  of  death.  "But  thanks  be  unto  God  who 
giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
"The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made 
me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." 

Having  now  seen  that  sins  of  ignorance  are  not  in- 
cluded in  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  also  that  sins  which 


112       WHAT  IS  NOT  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

we  commit  after  we  have  learned  that  they  are  sins,  but 
before  we  have  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  our 
deliverance  from  the  sinning  nature,  and^  before  we  have 
rejected  that  good  news,  are  not  unpardonable  sins ;  let 
us  now  continue  the  study  and  learn  what  is  the  sin  for 
which  there  is  no  pardon. 


XXI 

WHAT  IS  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN? 

"If  any  man  see  his  brother  sinning  a  sin  not  unto 
death,  he  shall  ask  and  God  will  give  him  life  for  them 
that  sin  not  unto  death.  There  is  a  sin  unto  death;  not 
concerning  this  do  I  say  that  he  should  make  request. 
All  unrighteousness  is  sin;  and  there  is  a  sin  not  unto 
death."  Jno.  5:16,  17.  R.  V. 

This  scripture  declares  that  all  unrighteousness  is 
sin,  but  divides  that  "all  unrighteousness"  into  first,  "sin 
not  unto  death,"  and  second,  "sin  unto  death."  Prayer 
on  behalf  of  the  first  will  be  heard,  but  no  hope  is  held 
out  for  him  who  has  committed  the  second. 

How  is  it  that  there  is  a  sin  not  unto  death?  "The 
wages  of  sin  is  death."  "Without  the  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  remission."  No  sin,  therefore,  can  be  re- 
mitted without  death.  How  is  it,  then,  that  the  wages 
of  sin  is  death,  and  yet  "there  is  a  sin  not  unto  death." 

The  explanation  is  simple.  The  sinning  that  is  not 
unto  death  to  the  sinner,  is  that  which  has  already  been 
unto  death  in  the  sinner's  Substitute,  Jesus  Christ,  "who 
died  for  our  sins."  "Who  His  own  self  bare  our  sins  in 
His  own  body  on  the  tree."  "The  Lord  laid  on  Him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all."  "That  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should 
to-ste  death  for  every  man."  "For  he  that  hath  died,  is 


WHAT  is  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN?        11.3 

justified  from  sin."  "One  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died." 
R.  V. 

The  sinning  which  is  "unto  death"  is  the  sinning 
which  our  Saviour  did  not  bear  when  He  died  for  our 
sins;  that  sinning  "which  shall  not  be  forgiven"  (Matt. 
12:31);  for  which  "there  remaineth  no  more  a  sacri- 
fice" (Heb.  10:  26)  ;  that  sinning  which  did  not  meet  its 
penalty  in  the  death  of  Christ,  and  which  therefore  must 
meet  its  penalty  in  the  death  of  the  sinner  himself;  for 
the  wages  of  sin  is  death. 

And  now  let  us  see  this  truth  in  a  simple  illustration. 
Let  the  following  line  represent  all  unrighteousness: 

"All  unrighteousness   is   sin."     "The  wages  of   sin 
is  death." 

The  Holy  Spirit  divides  all  unrighteousness  into  two 
parts.  That  unrighteousness  which  is  "not  unto  death," 
and  that  which  "is  unto  death." 

"Sin    not    unto    death  |  "Sin    unto    death" 

"All   unrighteousness   is   sin."     "The   wages   of   sin 

is  death." 

Now  the  reason  why  the  first  part  of  all  unrighteous- 
ness is  not  unto  death,  is  because  Christ  met  the  death 
penalty  of  that  sinning  in  His  own  death;  and  His 
blood,  which  represents  His  death,  covers  that  sinning, 
thus: 


THE    CRIMSON  LINE 

"  SHALL  NOT 

["SIN  NOT  UNTO  DEATH") 

pSW  UNTO  DEATH"! 

OF   SALVATION 

BE  FORGIVEN" 

Now  that  we  have  found  that  all  unrighteousness  is 
divided  into  "sin  not  unto  death,"  and  "sin  unto  death," 
let  us  apply  this  to  the  life  of  such  a  sinner.  Just  as 
certainly  as  the  Holy  Spirit  divides  all  unrighteousness 


114  WHAT  IS  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN? 

into  these  two  divisions,  so  surely  the  same  Spirit  divides 
the  unrighteous  life  of  the  sinner  into  these  two  divi- 
sions ;  because  it  is  only  in  the  life  of  such  a  sinner  that 
these  two  divisions  of  unrighteousness  appear.  And  now 
let  the  above  illustration  represent  the  unrighteous  life 
of  a  sinner  whose  sinning  includes  these  two  kinds  of 
sinning. 

From  this  it  is  clear  that  there  may  come  a  time  in 
the  life  of  a  sinner  when  his  sinning  is  "unto  death," 
when  it  is  of  no  avail  to  ask  life  for  him  because  his 
sinning  is  sinning  "which  shall  not  be  forgiven,"  for 
which  no  sacrifice  was  provided  in  the  death  of  Christ. 

Not  only  is  there  a  "sin  unto  death,"  for  which  it  is 
of  no  avail  to  make  request,  but  it  is  a  sin  which  it  is 
possible  for  the  enlightened  Christian  to  "see."  "If  any 
man  see  his  brother  sin  a  sin  not  unto  death."  "There 
is  a  sin  not  unto  death."  "There  is  a  sin  unto  death; 
not  concerning  this  do  I  say  that  he  should  pray." 

If  our  spiritual  discernment  is  not  keen  enough  to 
discern  between  the  two,  this  does  not  change  the  scrip- 
tural truth  that  there  may  come  a  time  in  the  life  of  a 
sinner  when  it  may  be  recognized  that  his  sinning  is  unto 
death,  when  his  sinning  is  a  sinning  which  was  not  laid 
upon  the  Lamb  of  God  and  must  therefore  be  laid  upon 
the  sinner  himself. 

Before  passing  to  other  scriptures  which  bring  to 
view  the  same  two  classes  of  sinning,  let  it  be  remarked 
that  there  is  just  as  much  love  manifested  in  these  warn- 
ing scriptures  as  there  is  in  the  other  scriptures  of  truth. 
There  is  just  as  much  love  in  the  faithful  parent's  words 
of  warning  to  his  child  as  in  words  of  commendation. 

The  two  classes  of  sinning  brought  to  view  in  1  Jno. 
5 :  16,  17,  are  dealt  with  by  our  Saviour  in  Matt. 
12:31,  32. 

"Wherefore,  I  say  unto  you,  all  manner  of  sin  and 


WHAT  IS  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN?  115 

blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men :  but  the  blasphemy 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto 
men." 

The  Revised  Version  of  Mark  3 :  29  reads  thus :  "But 
whosoever  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  hath 
never  forgiveness,  but  is  guilty  of  an  eternal  sin." 

Here  again  we  have  our  Saviour  dividing  all  unright- 
eousness into  "sin  not  unto  death"  and  "sin  unto  death," 
or  which  is  the  same  thing,  sin  which  shall  be  forgiven 
and  sin  which  shall  not  be  forgiven.  Evidently  those  sins 
which,  in  the  words  of  Christ,  "shall  be  forgiven"  are 
those  sins  which  He  was  soon  to  carry  to  the  cross  and 
meet  their  penalty  in  His  death;  and  those  sins  which 
"shall  not  be  forgiven,"  are  those  sins  which  Christ  did 
not  carry  to  Calvary,  and  did  not  meet  their  penalty  in 
His  death,  and  which  therefore  must  be  unto  death  in 
the  death  of  the  sinner  himself. 

Let  it  be  noted  that  wherever  the  unpardonable  sin  is 
brought  to  view  it  is  in  connection  with  the  rejection  of 
great  gospel  truth.  In  this  case,  our  Saviour  was  reach- 
ing out  the  last  hand  that  could  be  reached  out  for  the 
salvation  of  sinners.  After  men  fail  to  believe  the  Word, 
there  is  one  more  effort  that  can  be  made  and  that  is 
the  performing  of  wonderful  works  through  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Christ  said  to  the  Jews,  "If  I  do 
not  the  works  of  my  Father,  believe  Me  not.  But  if  1 
do,  though  ye  believe  not  Me,  believe  the  works:  that 
ye  may  know,  and  believe,  that  the  Father  is  in  Me,  and 
I  in  Him."  Jno.  10:37,  38. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  reaching  out  of  this 
last  hand  that  our  Saviour  gives  the  warning  against 
committing  the  unpardonable  sin.  He  had  wrought  a 
wonder  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  order  to  reach  the  un- 
believing Jews ;  but  they,  having  resisted  the  truth  up  to 
this  point  and  finding  it  necessary  to  counteract  the  in- 


116  WHAT  IS  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN? 

fluence  of  this  miracle  upon  the  people,  declared  that  this 
last  hand  thus  reached  out  to  save  them  was  the  hand 
of  Satan.  For  such  a  sin  there  was  no  forgiveness. 

Note  again  the  two  classes  of  sinning  in  the  follow- 
ing scripture: 

"For  as  touching  those  who  were  once  enlightened 
and  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  par- 
takers of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  tasted  the  good  word  of 
God,  and  the  power  of  the  age  to  come,  and  then  fall 
away,  it  is  impossible  to  renew  them  again  to  repentance ; 
seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh, 
and  put  him  to  an  open  shame."  Heb.  6 : 4-6.  R.  V. 

In  this  scripture  the  sin  unto  death  is  described  as 
that  "falling  away"  of  the  sinner  after  he  had  been  en- 
lightened by,  and  experienced  the  power  of,  the  gospel. 
Again,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  sinning  concerning  which 
it  is  impossible  to  renew  one  to  repentance,  is  a  falling 
away  from  the  fulness  of  gospel  light.  The  whole  con- 
text shows  that  it  is  a  public  apostacy  from  the  truth  of 
the  gospel.  It  is  not  a  single  act  of  sin  which  might  be 
represented  by  a  "fall,"  but  it  is  a  falling  away,  a  re- 
jecting of  the  gospel. 

The  illustration  of  the  fruitful  and  unfruitful  fields 
which  follows  confirms  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  a 
single  sin  or  fall,  but  a  rejection  of  a  repeated  manifes- 
tation of  God's  grace  represented  by  a  summer's  sun  and 
showers.  But  if  after  the  summer's  shining  of  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  and  the  summer's  showers  of  His  grace 
have  warmed  and  watered  the  heart,  it  yet  chooses  to 
bear  the  thorns  and  thistles  of  the  carnal  heart,  it  is 
impossible  to  renew  such  a  sinner  to  repentance,  there 
being  no  other  shining  and  no  other  showers. 

Why  impossible?  Simply  because  there  is  no  repen- 
tance for  such  sinning. 


WHAT  IS  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN?  117 

And  the  reason  why  there  is  no  repentance  is  because 
there  is  no  forgiveness. 

It  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  give  repentance. 
But  the  Spirit  will  not  and  cannot  give  repentance  for 
sinning  for  which  there  is  no  forgiveness.  And  there  is 
no  forgiveness  neither  can  there  be,  for  the  final  rejec- 
tion of  the  gospel.  In  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  there  was 
no  sacrifice  made  for  such  sinning. 

Surely,  there  is  repentance  to  be  found  for  all  those 
sins  for  which  a  sacrifice  was  provided.  A  sinning,  there- 
fore, for  which  there  is  no  repentance  must  be  a  sinning 
for  which  no  sacrifice  was  provided.  And  the  sin  of 
falling  away  or  a  final  rejecting  of  the  gospel  after  one 
has  come  to  know  its  power,  is  the  sin  for  which  there 
is  no  repentance  and  no  forgiveness ;  because  no  sacrifice 
could  be  provided  for  such  sinning  without  making 
Christ  the  minister  of  sin. 

The  same  two  classes  of  sinning  appear  in  the  follow- 
ing scripture : 

"If  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacri- 
fice for  sins."  Heb.  10:26. 

In  this  scripture  the  same  two  classes  of  sinning  are, 
first,  those  sins  committed  before  the  sinner  comes  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth  (that  is,  before  he  has  come  to 
a  knowledge  of  the  fulness  of  the  gospel,  as  presented  in 
the  scripture  quoted  from  the  6th  of  Hebrews)  ;  and 
second,  those  sins  which  are  involved  in,  and  which  fol- 
low, a  final  choosing  to  continue  in  sin.  For  such  sin- 
ning this  scripture  declares,  "there  remaineth  no  more 
sacrifice  for  sin";  and  for  the  manifest  reason  that  no 
sacrifice  could  be  provided  for  such  sinning. 

If  Christ  had  borne  the  sin  of  finally  rejecting  salva- 
tion and  the  sins  which  followed  such  rejection,  it  would 
be  impossible  ever  to  bring  sinning  to  an  end.  But  the 


118  WHAT  IS  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN? 

mission  of  Christ  is  to  make  an  end  of  sin.  "He  that 
committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil ;  for  the  devil  sinneth  from 
the  beginning.  .  .  .  For  this  purpose  the  Son  of  man 
was  manifested,  that  He  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil."  But  it  would  be  impossible  to  destroy  sinning  or 
the  works  of  the  devil,  if  there  were  an  atonement  made 
for  those  sins  of  fallen  men  and  angels  committed  in  re- 
jecting all  offers  of  salvation. 

If  such  sinning  were  included  in  the  sacrifice  of  Christ, 
wicked  men  and  angels  could  take  advantage  of  this  fact 
to  continue  their  deliberate,  defiant  campaign  against 
God  and  His  people  throughout  all  eternity.  No,  there 
is  no  sacrifice  for  such  sinning,  nor  could  there  be  with- 
out making  Christ  the  perpetuator  of  sin.  Having  now 
found  from  the  scriptures  that  there  is  a  sinning  for 
which  no  sacrifice  was  provided  in  the  death  of  Christ, 
let  us  in  the  next  chapter  apply  this  truth  to  the  solving 
of  the  seeming  difficulty  which  we  met  at  the  close  of 
chapter  XIX. 


XXII 
A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 

The  religious  world  is  divided  into  three  divisions 
over  this  subject: 

First,  those  who  teach  that  the  death  of  Christ  is  a 
full  and  final  payment  of  aU  the  sins  it  is  possible  for 
those  to  commit,  for  whom  He  died,  and  that  it  is  there- 
fore impossible  for  anyone  for  whom  He  died  to  be  lost. 
But  inasmuch  as  the  Scriptures  plainly  teach  that  some 
will  be  lost,  it  becomes  necessary  for  these  teachers  to 
take  the  position  that  Christ  did  not  die  for  those  who 
are  lost,  but  only  for  an  elect  few,  leaving  the  rest  of 
the  world  without  any  possible  chance  of  salvation. 


A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED  119 

Those  who  take  this  position  find  it  necessary  to  make 
a  desperate  effort  to  explain  away  the  manifest  meaning 
of  the  many  scriptures  which  teach  that  Christ  "died  for 
all."  Among  these  texts  are  the  following:  "God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life"  ( Jno.  3 :  16)  ;  "God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself"  (2  Cor.  5 :  19)  ; 
"That  He,  by  the  grace  of  God,  should  taste  death  for 
every  man"  (Heb.  2:9)  ;  "The  grace  of  God  that  bring- 
eth  salvation  hath  appeared  unto  aH  men"  (Titus  2:  11)  ; 
"For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  the  many  (R.  V.) 
were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one,  the  many 
(R.  V.)  shall  be  made  righteous"  (Rom.  5: 19)  ;  "Where 
sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound."  Rom. 
5:21. 

This  position  may  be  illustrated  by  Fig.  1,  enclosing 
a  number  of  short  lines  representing  the  lives  of  the 
world  of  sinners.  It  will  be  noticed  that  this  view  draws 
the  crimson  line  of  salvation  between  the  sinners  of  the 
world,  and  around  a  few  called  the  "elect":  leaving  all 
the  rest  in  hopeless  ruin  without  a  Saviour. 

The  second  division,  like  the  first,  teaches  that  the 
death  of  Christ  was  a  full  and  final  payment  of  all  the 
sinning  of  the  sinners  for  whom  he  died.  And,  accept- 
ing the  testimony  of  Scripture  that  He  "died  for  all," 
they  come  to  the  conclusion  that  all  must  be  saved.  They, 
in  turn,  make  a  desperate  but  futile  effort  to  explain 
away  those  many  scriptures  which  teach  that  many  will 
refuse  salvation  and  be  lo^t  at  last. 

"Wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth 
to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  that  go  in  thereat" 
(Matt.  7:13);  "For  the  hour  is  coming  in  which  all 
that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth;  .  .  .  they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the 


cvl 

W 
(X 


A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED  121 

resurrection  of  damnation"  ( Jno.  5 :  28,  29)  ;  "Who  shall 
be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord,  and  the  glory  of  His  power."  2  Thes. 
1:9. 

Let  this  position  be  illustrated  by  Fig.  2,  with  the 
crimson  line  of  salvation  drawn  around  all  the  sinning  of 
all  the  world's  sinners. 

The  third  division  of  thought  on  this  subject,  teaches 
that  Christ  died  for  all,  but  that  His  death  does  not  pay 
man's  debt  in  reality,  but  only  suspends  that  debt  of  sin 
over  the  head  of  the  sinner,  with  the  warning  that  the 
same  debt  of  guilt  which  was  borne  by  the  sinner's  Sub- 
stitute, Jesus,  will  be  collected  a  second  time  from  the 
sinner  himself  unless  he  mends  his  ways. 

But  this  is  not  the  gospel.  The  gospel  is  not  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  suspended  sentence ;  but  the  good  news 
that  the  sentence  has  been  executed  upon  a  willing  Sub- 
stitute, provided  by  the  Judge  Himself:  that  the  debt 
has  been  fully  and  finally  collected  from  the  only  begot- 
ten Son  of  the  Father.  Those  who  argue  that  the  gospel 
is  only  the  announcement  of  a  suspended  sentence,  find 
it  necessary  either  to  deny  that  Christ  really  suffered  the 
penalty  under  which  the  sinner  would  have  suffered;  or 
to  affirm  that  Christ's  payment  of  the  debt  leaves  man  as 
heavily  in  debt  as  if  it  had  not  been  paid. 

This  position  makes  it  necessary  to  explain  away  the 
plain  and  evident  meaning  of  the  many  scriptures  which 
teach  that  man's  debt  was  transferred  to  Christ  and  be- 
came His  debt,  and  that  He  redeemed  man  from  that 
debt  by  paying  it  Himself  in  His  own  death. 

"Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us"  (Gal.  3:  13)  ;  "Who  was  de- 
livered for  our  offenses,  and  was  raised  again  for  our 
justification"  (Rom.  4:25)  ;  "Christ  also  hath  once  suf- 


122  A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 

fered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust"  (1  Pet.  3:  18)  ; 
"God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself, 
not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.  .  .  .  For  He 
hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  "knew  no  sin,  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him" 
(2  Cor.  5 :  19-21)  ;  "While  we  were  enemies  we  were  rec- 
onciled to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son"  (Rom.  5:  10. 
R.  V.)  ;  "The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us;  because  we 
thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died" 
(2  Cor.  5 :  14.  R.  V.)  ;  "Who  His  own  self  bare  our  sins 
in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to 
sins,  should  live  unto  righteousness :  by  whose  stripes  ye 
are  healed"  (1  Pet.  2:  24)  ;  "Ye  also  were  made  dead  to 
the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ"  (Rom.  7:4.  R.  V.)  ;  "He 
that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin."  Rom.  6 : 7. 

The  error  of  this  third  position  cannot  be  illustrated 
like  the  others,  but  the  reader  is  asked  to  decide  which 
of  the  following  illustrations  is  the  better  representation 
of  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God. 

First,  a  man  is  brought  before  a  court  charged  with 
crime.  He  is  convicted,  and  sentenced  by  the  judge,  who 
immediately  suspends  the  sentence.  That  is,  he  tells  the 
guilty  man  that  he  will  not  order  the  sentence  executed 
upon  him,  but  will  suspend  it  over  his  head,  and  in  case 
of  good  behavior,  the  sentence  will  remain  suspended, 
but  in  case  his  conduct  is  not  good  the  sentence  will  be 
executed  upon  him. 

Second,  a  man  is  brought  before  the  court  charged 
with  crime.  He  is  convicted  and  sentenced,  but  the  judge 
immediately  executes  the  sentence  in  full  upon  his 
only  son,  who  steps  forward  and  requests  that  the  full 
penalty  of  the  crime  be  transferred  from  the  criminal  to 
himself.  Which  is  the  better  illustration  of  the  good 
news  which  the  ambassador  of  Christ  has  to  announce  to 
every  creature? 


A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 


123 


No,  the  Gospel  is  not  the  announcement  of  a  suspended 
sentence,  but  is  the  announcement  of  an  executed  sen- 
tence,— a  sentence  already  executed  on  a  willing  Sub- 
stitute. 

The  reader  may  ask,  If  this  is  true,  for  what  sin  then 
is  the  finally  impenitent  punished  ?  The  answer  is  simply, 
He  is  punished  for  neglecting  "so  great  salvation";  or, 
having  received  it,  for  then  rejecting  it. 


FIGURE    3. 


124  A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 

Let  the  illustration,  Fig.  3,  help  to  make  plain  the 
blessed  truth  which  reveals  the  beautiful  harmony  of  all 
the  Scriptures  bearing  on  this  subject. 

This  is  intended  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  Christ  died 
for  all  men,  but  not  for  all  the  sins  which  it  is  possible 
for  sinning  man  to  commit.  Instead  of  drawing  the 
crimson  line  of  salvation  between  the  sinners  of  the  world, 
and  declaring  that  those  sinners  within  the  line  are  the 
only  ones  for  whom  Christ  died,  and  all  the  rest  are  left 
in  black  despair,  the  gospel  draws  the  crimson  line  of 
salvation  between  the  sinning  of  the  world's  sinners  and 
separates  those  sins  into  first,  "Sin  not  unto  death"  to 
the  sinner  because  of  its  having  already  been  unto  death 
in  the  death  of  the  sinner's  Substitute;  and  second,  "Sin 
unto  death,"  which  did  not  meet  its  death  penalty  in  the 
death  of  Christ,  and  which  must  be  met  in  the  death  of 
the  sinner  himself. 

This  draws  the  line  between  the  sins  which  our 
Saviour  said  "shall  be  forgiven"  and  those  sins  which  He 
said  "shall  not  be  forgiven";  between  those  sins  for 
which  there  has  been  a  sacrifice  provided,  and  those  sins 
for  which  "there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice" ;  between 
those  sins  which  are  wilfully  wrought  by  the  sinner  in 
his  final  rejection  of  salvation,  and  those  sins  which  he 
committed  before  his  rejection  of  the  heavenly  gift. 

All  men  begin  their  lives  within  the  crimson  circle. 
For  where  sin  abounded  grace  did  much  more  abound. 
But  man's  sinning  may  extend  beyond  the  crimson  circle, 
and  include  that  sinning  for  which  there  is  no  sacrifice. 

In  the  last  illustration  a  line  representing  such  a  sin- 
ner's life  has  been  enlarged  so  that  the  two  classes  of 
sins  may  appear.  First,  the  "Sin  not  unto  death,"  or  that 
sinning  which  has  been  unto  death  in  the  death  of  Christ, 
and  is  therefore  covered  by  the  crimson;  second,  that 
which  "Is  unto  death,"  or  that  sinning  which  has  not  met 


A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED  125 

its  penalty  in  the  death  of  Christ  and  must  therefore  be 
met  in  the  death  of  the  sinner  himself ;  and  which  in  the 
illustration  is  not  covered  by  the  crimson  which  repre- 
sents the  death  of  Christ.  Those  lines  which  do  not  ex- 
tend beyond  the  crimson,  represent  the  lives  of  those 
whose  sinning  does  not  extend  beyond  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ. 

Of  that  which  we  have  spoken,  this  is  the  sum :  Christ 
died  for  all  men,  but  not  for  all  sin.  We  have  proved 
that,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  it  is  possible  for  the 
sinning  of  the  sinner  to  pass  beyond  the  crimson  line  cov- 
ered by  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  to  that  sinning  for  which 
"there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice." 

We  have  shown  that  the  crimson  line  of  salvation  has 
not  been  drawn  between  the  sinners  of  the  world,  saving 
some  independently  of  their  choice  and  faith,  and  damn- 
ing the  rest  to  hopeless  despair;  but  that  it  has  been 
drawn  between  the  sinning  of  the  despisers  of  God's 
grace,  separating  the  sins  of  ignorance  and  weakness, 
which  are  "Not  unto  death"  from  the  sin  of  final  rejec- 
tion of  salvation  which  is  "Unto  death,"  and  must  meet 
its  penalty  in  the  death  of  the  rejecter  of  God's  grace. 

Therefore,  the  Calvinist  is  right  when  he  teaches  that 
the  sins  for  which  Christ  paid  the  penalty  in  His  death, 
are  paid  forever  and  the  same  penalty  never  will  be  in- 
flicted a  second  time  on  the  sinner.  But  he  is  wrong  in 
teaching  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  sinner  for  whom 
Christ  died  to  commit  sins  not  included  in  that  sacrifice. 
He  is  also  wrong  in  restricting  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  to 
the  few,  and  leaving  the  rest  of  the  world  in  hopeless 
despair.  He  is  wrong  in  drawing  the  crimson  line  be- 
tween sinners  when  the  Scriptures  draw  it  between  the 
sins  of  the  sinners. 

The  Universalist  is  right  when  he  says  that  the  sins 
for  which  Christ  paid  the  penalty  in  His  death  are  really 


126  A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 

paid,  and  the  sinner  cannot  be  called  upon  to  pay  the 
same  penalty  again  without  placing  God  in  the  position 
of  demanding  a  double  payment;  once  in  the  death  of 
Christ  and  again  in  the  death  of  the  sinner  for  whom 
Christ  died.  The  Universalist  is  right  when  he  says  that 
Christ  died  for  all  and  not  for  the  few.  But  he  is  wrong 
when  he  teaches  that  Christ  died  for  all  the  sinning  of 
men.  He  is  right  when  he  draws  a  crimson  line  around 
all  men;  but  wrong  when  he  draws  that  line  around  all 
the  sinning  of  men. 

The  Arminian  is  right  when  he  insists  that  Christ 
died  for  all  men,  and  that  whosoever  will  may  come ;  and 
those  who  refuse  to  come  are  lost.  But  he  is  wrong 
when  he  teaches  that  the  sinner  is  as  guilty  after  Christ 
has  died  for  his  sins  as  if  Christ  had  not  died. 

For  how  can  it  be  that  we  are  as  guilty  as  if  Christ 
had  not  died?  Why  did  He  die?  What  caused  His 
death?  He  did  not  die  for  His  own  sins,  and  it  would 
be  impossible  for  him  to  die  if  He  did  not  bear  sin.  From 
whom,  then,  came  the  guilt  under  which  He  died?  Did 
it  not  come  from  us?  Since  then  the  guilt  which  He 
bore  was  taken  from  us  and  laid  on  Him,  how  can  it 
be  that  the  same  guilt  remains  on  us,  making  us  as  guilty 
as  if  He  had  not  borne  our  guilt?  Surely,  it  is  an  error 
to  teach  that  we  are  as  guilty  after  Christ  has  taken  our 
guilt  upon  Him  and  paid  its  penalty  in  His  death,  as  we 
would  have  been  if  He  had  not  died  for  our  sins. 

If  we  are  as  guilty  after  He  has  borne  our  guilt,  who 
will  save  us  from  this  guilt  that  remains  ?  Christ  will  not 
die  again.  And  the  guilt  of  sin  can  be  paid  only  by  death  ; 
for  the  wages  of  sin  is  death.  If  we  are  still  guilty  and 
Christ  will  not  die  again  for  this  guilt,  it  follows  that  we 
must  meet  this  guilt  ourselves,  and  as  it  can  be  met  only 
in  death,  it  follows  that  we  must  die  for  this  guilt.  If 
this  is  true,  there  is  no  hope  for  our  salvation. 


A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED  127 

But  it  is  an  error  to  teach  that  we  are  as  guilty  after 
Christ  has  taken  our  guilt,  as  if  He  had  not  suffered 
for  us. 

The  Arminian  is  right  in  opposing  the  doctrine  that 
Christ  died  for  the  few  only,  and  he  is  right  in  opposing 
the  teaching  that  because  Christ  died  for  all  therefore  all 
must  be  saved.  But  he  is  wrong  when  he  allows  a  fear 
of  these  errors  to  drive  him  to  a  denial  of  the  scriptural 
truth  that  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of 
the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us. 

He  should  gladly  admit  that  Christ  died  for  all  men, 
and  that  the  sins  which  were  laid  on  him  will  not  be  again 
laid  on  the  sinner.  But  he  should  emphasize  the  gospel 
truth  that  the  sinner  in  order  to  realize  the  benefits  of 
this  great  salvation  must  accept  it  by  faith.  "Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature :  he 
that  beliez'eth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  he  that  be- 
lieveth  not  shall  be  damned." 

But  the  sinner's  faith  is  not  a  faith  that  God  is  going 
to  put  his  sins  on  His  Son  and  send  Him  a  sin-bearer  to 
Calvary ;  but  that  he  has  done  it,  and  "it  is  finished."  If 
the  sinner  never  believes,  and  is  lost  at  last,  it  will  not 
be  because  God  has  revoked  what  He  did  for  him.  For 
how  could  God  revoke  the  sufferings  and  death  of  His 
Son? 

The  fact  will  remain  throughout  all  eternity  that  God 
paid  a  world's  debt  in  the  death  of  His  Son.  But  the 
sinner,  by  refusing  so  great  salvation,  makes  ANOTHER 
DEBT,  incurs  another  guilt,  commits  another  sin  which 
was  not  included  in  the  sins  which  were  laid  upon  Christ 
and  the  penalty  of  which  He  paid  in  His  death. 

In  order  to  escape  the  errors  of  Universalism,  there 
is  no  need  to  teach  that  the  sins  of  the  world  were  placed 
on  the  Lamb  of  God  conditionally, — that  He  died  con- 
ditionally. That  is,  in  case  man  does  not  accept  the 


128  A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 

sacrifice,  God  will  revoke,  or  take  back,  what  He  has 
done  for  the  sinner. 

Revoke  the  death  of  Christ !  Impossible !  "He  hath 
laid  on  Him  the  iniquities  of  us  all" ;  He*  bore  our  sins  in 
His  own  body  on  the  tree.  It  is  too  late  now  to  take  our 
sins  from  Him.  They  have  wrought  their  cruel  work; 
they  have  slain  the  Lamb  of  God;  they  have  met  their 
penalty  in  His  death.  It  is  impossible  to  take  back  the 
cross  of  Calvary. 

"It  is  finished,"  and  this  fact  will  remain  throughout 
eternity.  "Whatsoever  God  doeth  it  shall  be  forever" 
(Eccl.  3:  14)  ;  "The  gifts  and  callings  of  God  are  with- 
out repentance."  Rom.  11:29. 

How  could  God  revoke  what  He  has  done  for  the 
world?  Could  He  deny  that  His  Son  bore  our  sins? 
Could  He  revoke  the  agony  of  the  Garden,  or  the  groans 
of  the  Cross?  What  do  men  mean  when  they  tell  us 
that  His  death  was  "conditional"?  Either  He  bore  our 
sins  or  He  did  not  bear  them.  If  He  bore  them,  they  are 
borne,  and  borne  forever. 

We  need  not  fear  for  a  moment  that  this  truth  will 
lead  to  the  unscriptural  doctrines  of  Universalism,  be- 
cause there  will  remain  no  guilt  under  which  the  finally 
impenitent  are  lost.  Is  the  neglecting  of  "so  great  sal- 
vation" a  serious  matter?  Is  the  trampling  of  the  Son 
of  God  a  sin  worthy  of  death?  Is  the  counting  of  the 
Blood  of  the  Covenant  whereby  we  have  been  sanctified, 
"an  unholy  thing,"  a  sin  worthy  of  punishment?  Is  do- 
ing despite  to  the  Spirit  of  Grace,  insultingly  rejecting 
the  pleadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  sin  of  sufficient  mag- 
nitude to  cause  the  death  of  such  a  sinner?  Oh,  yes! 
Let  us  not  therefore  let  a  fear  of  these  errors  lead  us  to 
a  denial  of  the  atonement,  or  a  narrowing  down  of  the 
glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God. 


A  GREAT  DIFFICULTY  SOLVED 


129 


"Oh,  why  was  He  there  as  the  bearer  of  sin, 

If  on  Jesus   thy  guilt  was   not   laid? 
Oh,  why  from  His  side  flowed  the  sin-cleansing  blood, 
If  His  dying  thy  debt  has  not  paid?" 


XXIII 
THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  AND  THE  SECOND  DEATH 

"Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection:  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power" 
(Rev.  20:  6).  The  term  "second  death"  proves  that  there 
is  a  first  death.  Death  is  the  result  of  sin,  and  inasmuch 
as  there  is  a  first  and  second  death,  there  must  be  a  first 
and  second  sin.  What  is  this  second  sin  which  is  pun- 
ished by  the  "second  death"  ? 

Let  us  illustrate  the  thought  by  the  debit  and  credit 
system  of  ordinary  bookkeeping. 

DR.       THE  WORLD  IN  ACCOUNT  WITH  GOD.       CR. 


At  Creation.             By  sin. 

Death. 

Through  the  fall  of  Adam  the  world  by  its  sinning 
contracted  a  debt  with  the  Government  of  God  which 
could  be  paid  by  death  only;  for  the  wages  of  sin  is 
death.  Now  if  Christ  had  not  died  for  the  world,  the 
world  could  only  have  balanced  that  debt  by  its  own 
death,  thus: 

DR.       THE  WORLD  IN  ACCOUNT  WITH  GOD.        CR, 


By  Sin. 

Death. 

By  the  World's  Payment. 

Death. 

ACCOUNT  CLOSED 


130  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

But  when  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  His  death  was 
entered  as  a  credit  in  man's  favor  and  the  account  was 
balanced, — 

DR.       THE  WORLD  IN  ACCOUNT  WITH  GOD.        CR. 


By  Sin. 

Death. 

By  Christ's  Payment. 

Death. 

ACCOUNT  CLOSED 

And  thus  the  first  death  has  been  transformed  into  a 
sleep.  "Who  hath  abolished  death  and  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light  through  the  Gospel."  There  is  prom- 
ise of  an  awakening  out  of  death.  Now  where  there  is 
a  promise  of  awakening,  death  becomes  a  sleep. 

Consequently  all,  both  righteous  and  wicked,  are  rep- 
resented as  asleep.  (See  Dan.  12:  2;  1  Thess.  4:  13,  14.) 
To  all  is  promised  an  awakening  in  the  resurrection. 
"All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  His  voice,  and 
shall  come  forth;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the 
resurrection  of  life;  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto 
the  resurrection  of  damnation."  John  5 : 28,  29. 

If  there  were  no  cross  of  Calvary  there  would  be  no 
resurrection.  "If  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  Christ  not 
raised"  (1  Cor.  15:  16)  ;  "As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so 
in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  1  Cor.  15  :  22. 

A  universal  resurrection  is  positive  proof  that  those 
sins  which  caused  the  first  death  have  been  remitted  in 
the  death  of  Christ.  If  not,  there  could  be  no  resurrec- 
tion ;  for  the  first  sinning  would  hold  the  sinner  in  death. 
"He  was  delivered  for  our  offences  and  raised  again  for 
our  justification."  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  evi- 
dence that  the  debt  which  Christ  carried  to  the  cross  and 
died  to  remit,  has  been  remitted  in  His  death.  If,  there- 
fore, men  die  the  second  death,  it  must  be  for  a  second 
sin. 


AND  THE  SECOND  DEATH 


131 


It  is  impossible  to  kill  a  man  twice,  unless  he  has 
been  delivered  from  the  first  death.  It  is  impossible  for 
the  second  death  to  have  power  over  the  sinner,  unless 
he  be  redeemed  from  the  first  death  through  the  death 
of  Christ.  Inasmuch  as  the  second  death  does  have 
power  over  those  who  were  delivered  from  the  first 
death  by  the  death  of  Christ,  it  follows  that  the  second 
death  must  be  the  penalty  for  the  second  sin  which  must 
be  a  sinning  which  was  not  remitted  in  the  death  of 
Christ.  Seeing  we  have  proved  that  there  is  a  sinning 
not  included  in  the  sins  laid  upon  Christ,  it  follows  that 
the  second  sinning  is  that  sin — the  "sin  unto  death/' 
which  did  not  meet  its  death  penalty  in  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  must  meet  it  in  the  second  death  of  the  sin- 
ner himself. 

Let  us  see  this  in  an  illustration. 

DR.       THE  WORLD  IN  ACCOUNT  WITH  GOD.       CR. 


To  Sin. 

Death. 

By  Christ's  Payment. 

Death. 

Unpardonable,  or 
Second  Sin. 

Second 
Death. 

By  Sinner's  Payment 

Second 
Death. 

ACCOUNT  CLOSED 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  second  death  is  the  penalty 
for  the  second  sin,  or  that  sin  which  was  not  met  in  the 
death  of  Christ.  Inasmuch  as  He  will  not  die  again,  the 
sinner  who  commits  that  second  sin  must  pay  the  penalty 
in  his  own  death. 

Christ  did  not  die  to  redeem  the  sinner  from  the 
"second  death."  He  died  to  redeem  the  world  from  the 
first  sinning: — that  sinning  which  was  committed  while 
tke  sinner  was  enslaved  to  the  sinning  nature  which  was 


132  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

transmitted  through  sinful  Adam  to  all  the  world,  "For 
all  have  sinned."  "By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world" ;  "By  the  trespass  of  the  one  the  many  died" ; 
"By  one  man's  offence  'death  reigned  by'one" ;  "Through 
the  one  man's  disobedience  the  many  were  made  sin- 
ners." "Ye  were  redeemed  not  with  corruptible  things, 
with  silver,  or  with  gold,  from  your  vain  manner  of  life 
handed  down  from  your  fathers,  but  with  the  precious 
blood  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot, 
even  the  blood  of  Jesus."  1  Pet.  1 :  18.  R.  V. 

It  was  the  first  death  which  resulted  from  the  first 
sin  of  our  "First  father,"  which  Christ  carried  to  the 
cross  and  abolished  in  His  death.  "Who  hath  abolished 
death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  through 
the  gospel"  (2  Tim.  1 :  10).  By  his  sin  at  creation,  Adam 
made  the  world  sinners.  Christ,  the  last  Adam,  at  the 
second  beginning,  gathered  up  all  the  sins  of  the  world 
for  which  Adam's  sin  was  responsible  and  carried  them 
to  the  cross,  and  abolished  them  in  His  death,  and  in 
Himself  created  a  new  race  of  righteous  men.  "If  any 
man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature,  the  old  things  are 
passed  away;  behold,  they  are  become  new"  (2  Cor. 
5:  17.  R.  V.)  ;  "For  we  are  His  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works."  Eph.  2:  10. 

It  would  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  Word  of 
God  if  a  crimson  line  were  drawn  across  the  word  "died" 
on  all  the  tombstones  and  monuments  in  all  the  white 
city  cemeteries  of  the  world;  and  above  this  word  were 
v/ritten  that  which  in  the  gospel  has  superseded  it,  the 
words,  "fallen  asleep." 

It  was  the  first  sinning  of  the  first  sinner, — passing 
on  to  his  posterity, — and  the  first  death  bound  up  in  the 
first  sin,  and  which  passed  upon  all  men, — that  was 
abolished  on  the  cross. 

Note  how  this  truth  is  told  in  the  following  scripture : 


AND  THE  SECOND  DEATH  133 

"For  if  by  the  trespass  of  the  one  the  many  died,  much 
more  did  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  the  grace  of 
the  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  abound  unto  the  many.  .  .  . 
So  then  as  through  one  trespass  the  judgment  came  unto 
all  men  to  condemnation;  even  so  through  one  act  of 
righteousness  the  free  gift  came  unto  all  men  to  justifi- 
cation of  life.  For  as  through  the  one  man's  disobedience 
the  many  were  made  sinners,  even  so  through  the  obedi- 
ence of  the  one  the  many  were  made  righteous.  And  the 
law  came  in  besides,  that  the  trespass  might  abound ;  but 
where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  abound  more  exceedingly." 
Rom.  5:15,  18-20.  R.  V. 

Thus  it  is  made  clear  that  the  debt  with  which  Adam 
burdened  the  whole  world,  has  been  carried  to  the  cross, 
and  cancelled  in  the  death  of  the  crucified  one.  The  sec- 
ond death  is  the  punishment  for  the  second  sin, — the 
wilful  sinning  of  the  sinner  after  he  has  come  to  a 
"knowledge  of  the  truth."  It  is  the  wilful  sinning  of 
the  sinner  after  he  has  experienced  the  fulness  of  the 
power  of  God  to  save  from  sin,  when  all  the  saving 
showers  and  sunshine  of  God's  salvation  summer  have 
been  shed  upon  him  in  vain.  It  is  that  sinning  which  is 
represented  by  the  thorns  and  briers  of  the  neglected 
field,  "Whose  end  is  to  be  burned."  Heb.  6:4-8. 

By  the  sinner's  final  rejection  of  salvation  from  the 
sinning  of  Adam,  which  sinning  was  handed  down  to 
him  in  his  carnal  nature,  he  endorses  that  sinning  and 
thereby  makes  it  his  own  sinning.  He  makes  it  to  be 
the  sin  of  his  own  free  choice  in  the  face  of  free  salva- 
tion: the  sin  for  which  there  could  be  no  sacrifice  pro- 
vided without  forever  perpetuating  sin,  and  for  which 
the  second  death  is  the  inevitable  and  everlasting  pun- 
ishment. 

The  second  death  is  not  therefore  the  punishment  of 
the  first  sin,  the  sin  for  which  sinning  Adam  was  pri- 


134  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

marily  responsible,  but  of  the  second  sin, — the  deliberate 
sinning  of  the  sinner  for  which  he  himself  is  wholly  re- 
sponsible, and  not  Adam. 

For  when  the  good  news  is  announced  to  the  sinner 
that  all  his  sins  which  were  the  result  of  his  enslavement 
to  a  carnal  nature  by  the  sinning  of  Adam,  have  been 
remitted  in  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  a  way  provided 
for  his  escape  from  that  bondage,  if  he  then  decides  to 
remain  in  that  bondage  or  deliberately  and  finally  returns 
to  it  after  realizing  his  freedom,  he  can  no  longer  blame 
Adam  for  his  sinning  nor  for  his  sinful  nature.  For  by 
refusing  deliverance,  he  by  his  own  free  choice  chooses 
that  sinning  and  that  sinful  nature  and  becomes  there- 
after alone  responsible  for  his  sinning. 

As  before  proved,  God  included  all  the  sins  resulting 
from  the  sin  of  Adam,  which  included  the  sinning  of  his 
posterity  through  the  sinful  nature  with  which  he  en- 
slaved them,  in  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son,  and  mercifully 
paid  the  terrible  debt  in  the  death  of  Christ.  "For  God 
hath  shut  up  all  unto  disobedience,  that  He  might  have 
mercy  upon  all.  Oh,  the  depths  of  the  riches,  both  of 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God!  How  unsearchable 
are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways  past  tracing  out!" 
Rom.  11:32,33.  R.  V. 

"There  is  life  for  a  look  at  the  crucified  One, 

There  is  life  at  this  moment  for  thee; 
Then  look,  sinner,  look  unto  Him  and  be  saved, 
Unto  Him  who  was  nailed  to  the  tree. 

"Oh  why  was  He  there  as  the  bearer  of  sin, 

If  on  Jesus  thy  guilt  was  not  laid? 
Oh  why  from  His  side  flowed  the  sin-cleansing  blood, 
If  His  dying  thy  debt  has  not  paid? 

"It  is  not  thy  tears   of   repentance  or   prayers, 

But  the  blood  that  atones  for  the  soul; 
On  Him,  then,  who  shed  it  thou  mayest  at  once 
Thy  weight  of  iniquities  roll." 


sti, 


"  THAT  HE  MIGHT  HIMSELF  BE  JUST"         135 

XXIV 
"THAT  HE  MIGHT  HIMSELF  BE  JUST" 


Before  passing  to  a  further  explanation  of  what  con- 
stitutes the  unpardonable  sin,  let  us  notice  the  justice  of 
God  in  paying  in  the  death  of  His  Son  the  debt  of  the 
world. 

The  heading  of  this  chapter  is  the  revised  version  of 
Rom.  3 : 26,  and  presents  the  truth  which  is  found  in  the 
original,  that  the  gospel  not  only  justifies  man,  but  jus- 
tifies God.  Though  this  truth  has  been  emphasized  in 
a.  previous  chapter,  it  should  be  referred  to  again  in  this 
connection. 

The  Lord  plainly  declares  that  the  children  of  Adam 
— this  takes  in  all — are  not  to  blame  for  being  born  sin- 
ners. "Through  the  one  man's  disobedience  the  many 
were  made  sinners."  No  member  of  the  human  family 
born  of  Adam  is  responsible  for  being  born  a  sinner. 
Not  one  of  the  victims  of  Adam's  sin  was  present  to 
raise  his  voice  in  protest  against  the  disobedience  of 
Adam  whereby  he,  a  child  of  Adam,  was  made  a  sinner. 

He  was  made  a  sinner  before  he  was  born,  and  in 
consequence  was  born  a  sinner.  He  did  not  even  have 
an  opportunity  to  choose  whether  he  wished  to  be  born. 
He  was  given  his  existence,  if  not  by  force,  at  least  so 
freely  as  to  leave  him  wholly  irresponsible  for  his  birth. 
Not  only  was  he  given  a  life  for  which  he  was  not  re- 
sponsible, but  he  received  that  life  hopelessly  mortgaged 
with  debt, — a  debt  which  he  had  no  part  in  contracting, 
but  which  he  is  compelled  to  pay,  and  which  he  can  pay 
only  by  forfeiting  his  life  in  death. 

Is  the  lamb  to  blame  for  being  born  a  hopeless 
cripple?  Is  the  African  infant  to  blame  for  the  color  of 


136         "  THAT  HE  MIGHT  HIMSELF  BE  JUST" 

his  skin?  The  shepherd  would  be  blessed  for  his  mercy 
should  he  end  the  life  of  the  mother  sheep  whose  lambs 
were  always  born  crippled,  hopeless  sufferers.  And  we 
could  bless  our  God,  who  is  "too  wise*  to  err,  too  good 
to  be  unkind,"  had  he  brought  to  an  end  the  life  of  the 
sinning  head  of  the  race  in  viewof  the  fact  that  all  the 
world  would  be  born  hopelessly  diseased  with  a  malady 
which  doomed  them  to  death. 

But  if  he  permit  the  parents  of  the  race  to  live  and 
people  the  earth  with  slaves  of  sin,  slaves  who  were  made 
such,  not  by  any  act  of  their  own,  but  by  the  sinning  of 
their  ancestors,  how  it  does  justify  God,  who  thus  per- 
mits the  world  to  multiply, — to  see  Him  gather  up  all 
the  sinning  which  has  appeared  in  Adam's  children  as 
a  result,  and  lay  this  terrible  load  upon  His  only  Son, 
thereby  paying  the  penalty  of  those  sins  as  freely  as  they 
had  been  laid  upon  them  by  the  hand  of  their  sinning 
ancestor.  How  this  does  reveal  God's  righteousness! 

And  all  this  infinite  sacrifice  He  made  that  every 
sinner  born  into  the  world  might  himself  have  oppor- 
tunity to  choose  righteousness  and  life  in  the  place  of 
sin  and  death.  In  the  light  of  all  this,  how  befitting  the 
Father  of  mercies  to  freely  pay  in  His  Son, — the  last 
Adam, —  the  mortgage  of  sin  and  death,  which,  without 
their  consent,  the  first  Adam  placed  upon  the  whole 
world ! 

Every  sinning  soul  born  of  Adam  thus  set  free  is 
given  opportunity  freely  to  choose  between  righteousness 
and  sin,  life  and  death.  And  having  made  such  choice, 
no  creature  in  heaven  or  earth  can  blame  the  Creator  for 
the  ruin  of  any  son  of  Adam  who  was  born  a  sinner  as 
the  result  of  God's  permitting  the  sinning  head  of  the 
race  to  live  and  people  the  world  with  a  race  of  sinners. 
Having  refused  salvation,  the  sinner  cannot  blame  either 
Adam  or  God  for  his  ruin. 


IN  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  137 


XXV 

THE  PART  THE  LAW  PLAYS  IN  THE  UNPARDONABLE 

SIN 

"If  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  a  sac- 
rifice for  sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  expectation  of  judg- 
ment, and  a  fierceness  of  fire  which  shall  devour  the  ad- 
versaries." Heb.  10:26,  27.  R.  V. 

The  divine  definition  of  "sin"  is  found  in  1  Jno.  3 : 4, 
and  reads  thus:  "Whosoever  committeth  sin  transgres- 
seth  also  the  law,  for  sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law." 
This  divine  definition  placed  in  the  text  at  the  head  of 
the  chapter  would  make  it  read:  "If  we  transgress  the 
law  wilfully  after  we  have  received  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  a  sacrifice  for  sins." 

This  does  not  in  any  way  conflict  with  the  conclusion 
which  we  have  reached  that  the  unpardonable  sin  is  a 
rejection  of  the  gospel.  The  rejection  of  the  cross  of 
Calvary  is  the  unpardonable  sin;  but  the  way  the  rejecter 
manifests  that  rejection  is  by  disobedience,  by  continuing 
in  sin,  which  is  the  transgression  of  the  law. 

The  law  of  God,  therefore,  plays  a  vital  part  in  that 
sinning  for  which  there  was  no  sacrifice  provided  at  the 
cross  of  Calvary.  The  plan  of  salvation  is  a  plan  to  save 
men  from  sin, — from  disobedience,  from  transgression 
of  that  law  which  is  described  as  being  "holy,  just  and 
good."  "Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus,  for  He  shall 
save  His  people  from  their  sins," — save  them  from  the 
transgression  of  the  law. 

All  men  are  born  sinners,  born  with  the  law  of  sin 
lurking  in  their  members,  born  with  a  ''carnal  mind." 
And  that  "carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God:  for  it  is 


138  THE  PART  THE  LAW  PLAYS 

not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.'5 
The  work  of  the  gospel  is  first  to  show  the  sinner  that 
this  carnal  mind  lives  in  him,  and  unless  he  shall  separ- 
ate from  it,  he  is  doomed  to  perish  with  it.  Next,  it  is 
the  work  of  the  gospel  to  show  the  way  of  escape  which 
has  been  provided  in  the  dieath  and  resurrection  of 
Christ ;  and  next  to  persuade  the  sinner  to  accept  that  de- 
liverance. This  is  the  plan  of  procedure  as  presented  in 
Paul's  epistle  to  the  Romans. 

One  cannot  read  the  seventh  and  eighth  chapters  of 
Romans  carefully  without  noticing  how  sin  under  its 
various  titles  is  treated,  not  as  a  mere  thing  without 
either  intelligence  or  individuality;  but  as  a  personality, 
whose  "working"  (v.  8,  ch.  7)  "reviving"  (v.  9)  "war- 
ring," enslaving  (v.  2,3)  with  bitter  enmity  against  God 
(ch.  8:6),  plainly  point  to  that  malignant  "spirit  that 
now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience"  (Eph. 
2:2).  In  plain  words,  it  is  the  devil  that  is  behind  the 
sinning  of  the  carnal  nature,  as  the  following  scriptures 
plainly  show. 

"Ye  are  of  your  father,  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of 
your  father  ye  will  do"  ( Jno.  8 : 44)  ;  "He  that  commit- 
teth  sin  is  of  the  devil;  for  the  devil  sinneth  from  the 
beginning.  For  this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  mani- 
fested, that  He  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil." 
1  Jno.  3 :  8. 

Sin  is  therefore  simply  Satan  at  work, — "the  spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience."  It 
is  as  impossible  to  separate  disobedience  of  God's  law 
from  the  personal  working  of  the  spirit  of  Satan  as  it 
is  to  separate  true  obedience  to  that  law  from  the  per- 
sonal working  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

But  Satan  does  not  want  this  fact  known.  He  does 
not  want  the  presence  of  his  spirit  in  the  children  of 
disobedience  to  become  known,  lest  he  be  cast  out.  On 


IN  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  139 

the  other  hand,  the  God  of  all  grace  desires  that  the 
presence  of  Satan  shall  be  made  known,  so  that  the  chil 
dren  of  disobedience  may  be  led  to  decide  against  him 
and  obtain  deliverance. 

It  is  the  law  of  God  which  the  Spirit  of  God  uses 
to  reveal  the  presence  of  the  enemy  in  the  children  of 
disobedience.  But  when  we  say  the  law  of  God,  we  do 
not  mean  something  separate  from  God.  We  can  no 
more  conceive  of  the  law  of  God  as  being  something 
separate  from  God  than  we  can  conceive  of  the  law  of 
sin  and  death  as  something  separate  from  the  spirit  of 
Satan.  The  connection  between  God  and  the  law  of 
God  is  clearly  made  in  the  following  scripture :  "The  car- 
nal mind  is  enmity  against  God;  for  it  is  not  subject  to 
the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be'*  (Rom.  8:7). 
Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  law  of  God  and  God  are  placed 
together  on  the  one  side,  and  the  carnal  mind  on  the 
other;  and  that  opposition  to  the  law  of  God  is  opposi- 
tion to  God. 

Let  it  be  repeated,  that  the  law  of  God  (one  precept 
of  which  is,  "Thou  shalt  not  covet")  is  that  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  teaching  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  the  Spirit 
uses  to  discover  to  the  child  of  disobedience  the  presence 
of  the  spirit  of  Satan. 

It  is  said  that  the  devil  hates  holy  water,  but  there 
is  no  scripture  for  the  statement.  There  is,  however, 
scripture  in  support  of  the  truth  that  he  hates  the  holy 
law.  And  when  God  would  make  known  to  the  sinner 
the  presence  of  Satan,  he  makes  known  his  law,  which 
is  to  Satan  like  the  red  rag  to  the  bellowing  beast,  and 
which  stirs  him  up  to  activity,  and  thus  discloses  his  real 
presence  and  character  to  the  sinner.  This  truth  is  told 
in  the  experience  of  Paul  as  related  in  the  7th  of  Romans. 

The  connection  between  sin  and  Satan  is  established. 
Sin  is  the  working  of  Satan.  Let  us  now  put  this  defini- 


140  THE  PART  THE  LAW  PLAYS 

tion  of  sin  into  several  passages  and  see  how  plain  they 
become. 

What  shall  we  say  then,  Is  the  law  sin  or  the  working 
of  Satan?  God  forbid,  nay  I  had  not  known  sin  or  the 
working  of  Satan,  except  the  law  had  said,  thou  shalt 
not  covet.  But  sin,  Satan,  taking  occasion  by  the  law 
wrought  in  me  all  manner  of  coveting:  for  without  the 
law  the  working  of  Satan  was  dead.  And  I  was  alive 
without  the  law  once,  but  when  the  commandment  came, 
the  working  of  Satan  revived  and  I  died.  And  the  com- 
mandment which  was  ordained  to  life,  I  found  to  be  unto 
death.  For  Satan,  taking  occasion  by  the  command- 
ment, beguiled  me,  and  by  it  slew  me.  So  that  the  law 
is  holy  and  the  commandment  is  holy,  and  just  and  good. 
Was  then  that  which  is  good  made  death  unto  me?  God 
forbid.  But  the  working  of  Satan,  that  it  might  appear 
to  be  the  working  of  Satan,  by  working  death  in  me  by 
that  which  is  good;  that  through  the  commandment  the 
working  of  Satan  might  become  exceeding  Satanic.  For 
the  law  is  spiritual ;  but  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  the  work- 
ing of  Satan. 

When,  therefore,  the  child  of  disobedience  discovers 
by  means  of  God's  law,  in  the  hands  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
that  he  is  harboring  in  his  members  none  other  than  the 
lawless  spirit  of  Satan,  and  comes  to  see  God's  holiness 
through  the  law,  and  the  sinful  lusting  and  the  general 
lawlessness  of  Satan  by  the  same  law,  he  is  then  called 
upon  to  choose  between  the  two  masters.  Upon  this 
choice  depends  his  destiny. 

If  he  takes  sides  against  the  holy  law  in  favor  of  the 
carnal  mind,  he  thereby  takes  sides  against  God  in  favor 
of  Satan.  When  he  learns  that  his  transgressions  of  the 
law  caused  the  death  of  God's  only  begotten  Son,  if  he 
then  deliberately  and  finally  decides  to  continue  to  trans- 
gress the  law  he  thereby  in  his  heart  crucifies  the  Son 


IN  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIX  141 

of  God  afresh.  The  sins  which  he  now  commits  are 
transgressions  of  the  law  in  view  of  the  fact  that  sin 
caused  the  suffering  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  They 
are  a  trampling  of  the  Son  of  God  under  foot,  and  a 
counting  of  the  blood  of  the  covenant, — Christ's  blood, — 
whereby  He  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and  a  heap- 
ing of  insult  on  the  Spirit  of  Grace. 

This  is  the  sinning  which  "shall  not  be  forgiven," 
which  is  "unto  death/'  for  which  no  sacrifice  was  pro- 
vided in  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  for  which  no  sacrifice 
could  be  provided  without  forever  perpetuating  sin.  As 
before  shown,  if  such  sacrifice  had  been  provided  for 
such  sinning — such  law-breaking — the  devil  and  his 
angels  and  all  the  wicked  men  of  earth  could  demand  de- 
liverance from  punishment  while  continuing  to  defy  God 
and  war  against  His  kingdom.  This  is  the  unpardonable 
sin,  a  description  of  which  appears  in  the  following  scrip- 
ture: 

"If  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice 
for  sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment 
and  fiery  indignation,  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries. 
He  that  despised  Moses'  law  died  without  mercy  under 
two  or  three  witnesses :  of  how  much  sorer  punishment, 
suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trod- 
den under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an 
unholy  thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of 
Grace?  For  we  know  Him  that  hath  said,  Vengeance 
belongeth  unto  me,  I  will  recompence,  saith  the  Lord. 
And  again,  The  Lord  shall  judge  His  people.  It  is  a 
fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God." 
Heb.  10:26-31. 

A  comparison  is  here  made  between  two  kinds  of  law- 
breaking  or  sinning.  One  is  the  wilful  transgression  of 


142  THE  PART  THE  LAW  PLAYS 

the  law  in  the  presence  of  the  commandment  carved  on 
stone,  the  other  is  the  wilful  transgression  of  that  law  in 
the  presence  of  the  sprinkled  blood  of  the  crucified  One. 
In  other  words,  that  first  sin  was  a  wil'ful  transgression 
of  a  righteous  law.  The  second  is  not  only  a  wilful 
transgression  of  that  righteous  law,  but  also  a  wilful 
trampling  under  foot  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

"Do  we  then  make  void  the  law  through  faith?  God 
forbid:  Yea,  we  establish  the  law"  (Rom.  3:  31).  Those, 
therefore,  who  use  the  Cross  of  Christ  as  a  justification 
for  continuing  in  sin — continuing  to  transgress  any  part 
of  God's  holy  law,  the  disobedience  of  which  on  the  part 
of  a  sinning  world  caused  the  death  of  the  Lamb  of 
God, — are  in  danger  (if  they  are  doing  it  in  the  face  of 
light)  of  committing  that  sin  for  which  there  is  no  sac- 
rifice. 

"Shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound  ?  God 
forbid."  "Shall  we  sin,  [transgress  the  law],  because 
we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace?  God  forbid." 
If  we  do  thus  transgress  the  law,  we  will  place  ourselves 
outside  the  provisions  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ;  because 
that  sacrifice  was  not  made  in  behalf  of  such  transgres- 
sion. 

In  the  sixth  chapter  of  Romans,  from  which  these 
last  scriptures  were  quoted,  Paul  introduces  the  "sin  unto 
death"  in  his  warning  against  perverting  the  grace  of 
God  into  a  license  to  continue  in  sin  or  the  transgression 
of  the  law.  , 

After  showing  that  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound,  and  as  a  result  of  that  abounding 
grace,  men  were  not  under  the  law  but  under  grace,  he 
then  asks,  "Shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may 
abound?  God  forbid."  "Shall  we  sin  because  we  are  not 
under  the  law,  but  under  grace?"  and  then  tells  us  that 


IN  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN  143 

upon  this  decision  depends  our  final  destiny.  If  we  will- 
ingly decide  to  choose  sin  in  the  face  of  this  abounding 
grace,  this  choice  will  constitute  the  "sin  unto  death." 
"Shall  we  sin  because  we  are  not  under  law,  but  under 
grace?  God  forbid.  Know  ye  not  that  to  whom  ye 
yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants  ye  are  to 
whom  ye  obey,  whether  of  "sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedi- 
ence unto  righteousness?" 

This  scripture  plainly  tells  what  is  the  "sin  unto 
death"  of  which  John  speaks,  and  also  the  sinning  wil- 
fully or  willingly,  mentioned  in  Heb.  10 : 26.  The  sin 
unto  death  appears,  then,  a  free  and  final  decision  to  be 
and  remain  a  sinner  after  one  comes  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  abounding  grace  of  God  given  freely  to  save  from 
sin. 

It  is  also  made  plain  that  sinning  ignorantly  is  not 
the  unpardonable  sin.  Neither  is  that  sinning  unpardon- 
able which  is  committed  before  one  comes  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  abounding  grace  of  God.  But  that  sinning  is  un- 
pardonable which  involves  a  final  rejection  of  the  grace 
of  God  and  a  free  choosing  to  continue  a  servant  of  sin. 

The  unpardonable  sin,  therefore,  is  a  sin  against  the 
gospel,  a  rejection  of  salvation  through  the  cross  of  Cal- 
vary. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  Adam's  sin  was  not  the  un- 
pardonable sin.  He  did  not  sin  against  the  gospel.  The 
gospel  had  not  yet  been  made  known  to  him.  He  sinned 
willingly,  but  that  does  not  alone  constitute  the  unpar- 
donable sin.  Jn  order  for  him  to  commit  the  unpardon- 
able sin,  he  must  have  sinned  willingly  after  he  had  come 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  salvation  provided  in  the  death  of 
Christ ;  he  must  have  chosen  sinning  in  the  place  of  sal- 
vation, with  the  knowledge  that  sinning  caused  the  death 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  is  this  the  only^sin  which  can 


144       THE  LAW  AND  THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN 

cause  the  ruin  of  the  sinner?  Must  every  man  before 
he  can  be  lost,  experience  the  fulness  of  God's  salvation  ? 
No;  this  is  not  the  only  sin  which  ruins  men.  "How 
shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation." 

It  is  not  necessary  for  men  to  accept  salvation  and 
then  reject  it  in  order  to  be  lost.  If  they  continue  to 
neglect  salvation  which  is  offered  them,  and  which  the 
Spirit  impresses  them  that  they  need, — this  neglect  will 
result  in  their  ruin  as  surely  as  if  they  had  accepted  and 
then  rejected.  The  man  who  was  washed  overboard  by 
a  heavy  sea  and  has  permitted  the  lifeline  to  pass  by 
unheeded,  as  surely  sins  against  his  life  as  the  man  who 
grasped  the  line  and  then  deliberately  cast  it  from  him. 

Doubtless  many  more  will  find  themselves  lost  at  last 
through  neglecting  to  be  saved  than  there  will  be  who 
fully  accepted  the  gospel  and  then  rejected  it  because  the 
way  was  too  thorny,  or  the  path  too  narrow  and  unpopu- 
lar. 


XXVI 
LIBERTY  IS  NOT  LICENSE 

Before  dismissing  the  subject  of  the  unpardonable 
sin;  let  us  view  it  from  the  standpoint  of  the  illustration 
found  in  Chapter  IX. 

But  shall  we  sin  because  we  are  not  under  law,  but 
under  grace  ?  Inasmuch  as  sin  is  defined  by  the'  Holy 
Spirit  ( 1  John  3:4)  to  be  the  transgression  of  the  law, 
the  above  question  dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through 
the  Apostle  Paul  is  equivalent  to  this:  Shall  we  trans- 
gress the  law  because  we  are  not  under  the  law?  God 
forbid.  That  we  may  see  the  wickedness  of  such  a  per- 
version of  the  Scriptures,  let  us  return  to  the  parable  of 
Chapter  IX. 


LIBERTY  IS  NOT  LICENSE  145 

On  the  morrow  after  the  release  of  John  Borninsin, 
he  is  met  by  one  of  his  old  comrades  in  crime,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  parable,  the  following  conversation  takes 
place : 

Tom  Carnalmind — "Well,  John,  you  are  a  lucky  chap. 
I  thought  you  would  surely  swing  this  time.  But  what 
surprises  me  more  is  that  the  governor  has  actually  placed 
his  fortune  at  the  disposal  of  the  Judge  on  your  behalf, 
so  that  when  you  go  house-breaking  and  get  caught,  they 
can't  get  you  into  prison.  What  glorious  liberty  from  the 
law !  I  wish  I  were  in  your  boots.  It  must  seem  good  to 
be  free  from  that  troublesome  law.  It  is  that  law  that 
has  made  us  all  the  trouble,  and  I  have  always  known 
that  if  it  were  not  for  the  law,  we  would  enjoy  glorious 
liberty.  Now,  John,  if  you  are  wise,  you  will  use  this 
glorious,  abounding  grace  to  gather  in  a  pile  for  a  rainy 
day." 

A  bystander,  Mr.  Spiritudmind — "But,  John,  do  you 
understand  your  freedom  from  the  law  in  the  way  Tom 
Carnalmind  views  it  ?  Are  you  going  to  continue  in  trans- 
gression of  the  law  that  grace  may  abound?  Are  you 
going  to  transgress  the  law  because  you  are  not  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace?" 

John  Borninsin — "God  forbid.  I  do  not  understand 
that  His  Excellency  has  deposited  his  fortune  to  my 
credit  with  the  Judge  to  save  me  from  the  penalty  of 
the  transgression  of  the  law,  because  he  wants  me  to  be 
a  law-breaker,  but  that  I  might  be  saved  from  the  results 
of  my  law-breaking,  until  I  should  become  a  law-abiding 
citizen." 

Mr.  Spiritualmind — "That  is  right,  John.  You  have 
clearly  discerned  His  Excellency's  purpose." 

Tom  Carnalmind — "What  a  foolish  fellow  to  go  and 
put  yourself  under  law  again.  Why  don't  you  take  ad- 
vantage of  your  liberty?  You  are  not  under  law,  but 
under  grace," 


s 

'I 

<3 


LIBERTY  IS  NOT  LICENSE  147 

John  Borninsin — "But  my  freedom  from  the  law  is 
not  a  freedom  to  transgress  the  law ;  but  a  freedom  from 
the  penalty  of  the  transgression  of  the  law,  that  I  may 
have  opportunity  to  learn  to  be  obedient  to  the  law." 

Tom  Carnalmind — "I  don't  see  it  that  way.  I  con- 
sider that  the  object  of  the  deposit  of  grace  is  to  make 
void  the  law,  so  you  can  transgress  it  freely  without  be- 
ing punished;  and  I  think  you  are  very  foolish  to  put 
yourself  under  law  again." 

John  Borninsin — "But  I  understood  from  His  Lord- 
ship, the  Judge,  that  no  part  of  the  deposit  of  grace  was 
for  wilful  transgression  of  the  law,  but  only  such  trans- 
gressions as  I  might  commit  in  my  weakness  and  ignor- 
ance, while  I  was  learning  how  to  be  obedient.  I  was 
told  plainly  that  if  I  transgressed  wilfully,  that  is,  if  I 
deliberately  chose  to  be  a  law-breaker,  after  I  had  come 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  purpose  and  power  of  the  grace, 
there  would  remain  no  part  of  His  Excellency's  deposit 
of  grace  to  save  me  from  my  transgressions.  And  as 
ignorant  as  I  am,  I  can  plainly  see  that  this  is  reasonable. 
If  the  deposit  of  grace  was  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
me  out  of  prison  in  order  that  I  might  continue  my  old 
life  of  lawlessness,  that  would  make  both  His  Lordship 
and  His  Excellency  to  be  friends  of  lawlessness." 

On  the  morrow,  Mr.  Spiritualmind  meets  John  Born- 
insin in  charge  of  a  policeman,  and  the  following  con- 
versation takes  place: 

Mr.  Spiritualmind — "Officer,  has  John  transgressed 
again,  after  all  that  has  been  done  to  save  him  from  the 
penalty  of  his  law-breaking?" 

Officer — "I  am  sorry  to  say,  he  has." 

Mr.  Spiritualmind — "How  could  you  do  it,  John,  after 
all  the  grace  manifested  for  you?" 

John — "I  did  not  transgress  wilfully.  I  was  overcome 
in  a  moment  of  weakness  and  unwatch fulness.  And  I 


148  LIBERTY  IS  NOT  LICENSE 

am  more  sorry  than  I  can  express ;  and  it  is  in  my  heart 
to  transgress  no  more." 

Mr.  Spiritualmind — "Officer,  where  are  you  taking 
John?" 

Officer— "To  the  Judge,  sir,  to  be  punished." 

Mr.  Spiritualmind — "What  are  you  going  to  do, 
John?" 

John — "I  am  going  boldly  to  my  throne  of  grace.  It 
is  this  same  Judge  who  has  the  grace  in  keeping  for  me." 

Mr.  Spiritualmind — "The  law  was  our  schoolmaster 
to  bring  us  to  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith ; 
but  after  that  faith  is  come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a 
schoolmaster.  Yes,  the  officer  of  the  law  is  only  taking 
you  where  the  grace  is  deposited." 

Reader,  was  the  deposit  of  grace  for  the  purpose  of 
perpetuating  lawlessness?  Was  the  governor  so  in  sym- 
pathy with  law-breaking  that  he  would  sacrifice  his  for- 
tune to  perpetuate  it?  No,  no.  He  gave  his  fortune  to 
save  the  man's  life  in  order  to  give  him  an  opportunity 
to  leave  off  his  law-breaking.  If  the  law-breaker  never 
becomes  law-abiding,  will  not  the  sacrifice  have  been  made 
in  vain?  If  the  criminal  continues  his  career  of  lawless- 
ness to  the  last  of  his  life,  will  not  the  deposit  of  grace 
have  been  made  in  vain  so  far  as  the  young  man  is  con- 
cerned? True,  it  will  have  revealed  the  graciousness  of 
the  governor,  and  the  ingratitude  of  the  criminal,  but  it 
will  have  been  made  in  vain  so  far  as  the  salvation  of  the 
lawless  one  is  concerned. 

That  father  whose  effort  for  the  reformation  of  his 
wayward  son  never  results  in  anything  more  than  follow- 
ing him  from  place  to  place  and  paying  his  fines  and 
saving  him  from  prison  and  the  gallows,  is  a  sorrowful 
failure.  If  the  son  dies  in  this  reprobate-  condition,  all 
the  world  would  pronounce  that  father's  effort  to  reform 
his  son  as  a  failure,  so  far  as  the  reformation  of  the  son 


LIBERTY  IS  NOT  LICENSE  149 

is  concerned.  It  may  be  no  fault  of  the  father  any  more 
than  a  lost  sinner  indicates  a  fault  on  God's  part,  but  so 
far  as  the  wayward  son  is  concerned,  the  grace  has  been 
manifest  in  vain. 

In  like  manner,  if  God's  deposit  of  grace  on  behalf  of 
the  transgressor  of  His  law,  does  no  more  than  per- 
petuate the  lawless  life  of  the  transgressor,  it  will  have 
been  made  in  vain  so  far  as  the  lawless  one  is  concerned. 
It  will  have  served  to  reveal  the  mercy  and  love  of  God. 
and  the  ingratitude  of  the  transgressor,  but  it  will  have 
been  spent  in  vain  so  far  as  the  sinner  is  concerned.  The 
object  of  God's  grace  was  not  that  we  might  "continue 
in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound,"  but  "that  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not 
after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit."  Rom.  8 :  4. 

This  illustration  was  used  on  one  occasion,  in  conver- 
sation with  a  law-made-void-by-faith  advocate,  and  the 
man,  feeling  the  force  of  the  illustration  against  his  no- 
law  theory,  attempted  to  parry  its  force.  He  said :  "Your 
illustration  breaks  down  in  one  important  point.  Your 
governor  is  not  able  to  give  his  life,  like  Christ,  to  be  the 
life  of  the  law-breaker." 

"True,"  was  the  reply.  "But  if  he  had  been  able  to 
give  his  life,  would  the  life  that  he  gave  have  been  a  law- 
keeping  Mfe,  tike  the  governor's,  or  a  law-breaking  life 
such  as  the  lawless  one  already  had?" 

To  this  searching  question  the  antinomian  had  no 
reply.  Just  as  surely  as  the  governor  was  a  law-abiding 
citizen,  so  surely  would  the  life  which  he  would  give  to 
the  lawless  one,  were  he  able,  have  been  a  law-keeping 
life.  To  sacrifice  his  fortune  to  save  the  lawless  one  from 
his  transgressions  of  the  law,  and  then  give  him  a  life 
which  would  continue  to  transgress  the  law,  is  too  un- 
reasonable to  contemplate. 

But  it  is  still  more  unreasonable  and  unscriptural  to 


150  LIBERTY  IS -NOT  LICENSE 

believe  that  God  would  give  His  only  Son  to  die  on  Cal- 
vary to  save  man  from  the  results  of  his  law-breaking, 
and  then,  when  it  is  in  His  power  to  give  him  a  new 
life,  He  should  give  him  a  life  which  would  continue  in 
transg-ression  of  that  law.  The  thought  is  too  absurd  to 
entertain  for  a  moment.  Such  a  position  would  put  the 
holy  life  of  God  against  His  holy  law.  It  puts  God  in 
the  position  of  sacrificing  His  Son  to  save  man  from  the 
death  which  is  his  just  due  as  the  result  of  his  transgres- 
sion of  God's  law,  and  then  giving  the  man  a  life  which 
v/ould  continue  in  everlasting  transgression  of  His  law. 

No,  no !  Just  as  surely  as  an  unpardonable  sin  would 
be  committed  against  the  abounding  grace  of  the  gov- 
ernor if  the  young  transgressor  had  determined  to  use 
the  governor's  deposit  of  grace  to  continue  his  life  of 
law-breaking,  just  so  surely  does  the  sinner  today  com- 
mit the  unpardonable  sin  when  he  transgresses  the  law 
of  God  wilfully  after  he  has  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  concerning  the  purposes  and  power  of  the  grace  of 
God,  and  uses  that  grace  as  an  opportunity  to  continue  in 
transgression  of  the  law,  for  he  thereby  tramples  upon 
the  Son  of  God,  counts  the  blood  of  the  covenant  where- 
by he  was  sanctified  from  his  law-breaking,  an  unholy 
thing,  and  does  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace.  Heb. 
10:26-29. 

"Shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound? 
God  forbid."  "What  then?  Shall  we  sin  [transgress 
the  law]  because  we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace?  God  forbid.  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye 
yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants  ye  are  to 
whom  ye  obey :  whether  of  sin  [transgression  of  the  law] 
unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness?"  Rom. 
6:1,  15,  16. 


SERVING  IN  NEWNESS  OF  LIFE  151 


XXVII 

SERVING  IN  NEWNESS  OF  LIFE 

An  incident  occurred  in  slavery  days  that  beautifully 
illustrates  salvation  as  the  gift  of  God  and  the  saved 
man's  works  as  the  fruit  of  love. 

The  scene  is  a  southern  slave  market.  The  auctioneer 
is  selling  a  chain-gang  lot  of  colored  humanity  as  if  they 
were  so  many  head  of  cattle  or  horses  or  mules.  Hus- 
band is  being  sold  and  separated  from  the  wife,  wife 
from  the  husband,  children  from  their  mothers,  mothers 
from  their  children. 

Presently  there  is  placed  upon  the  auction  block  a 
giant,  his  finely  formed  features,  his  refined  and  intelli- 
gent face  attract  the  attention  of  the  crowd. 

The  auctioneer  eyes  him  up  and  down,  then  turns  to 
the  people  and  says: 

"Here  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  race.  This  man  stands 
six  feet  four,  in  his  bare  feet;  he  weighs  two  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds, — all  bone,  muscle  and  sinew.  He  is 
only  twenty- four  years  old.  What  am  I  bid  for  the  man  ?'' 

Mr.  Brown — I  bid  nine  hundred  dollars. 

Auctioneer — Nine  hundred  dollars  I  am  bid !  Nine 
hundred  dollars!  Going  at  nine  hundred!  Gentlemen, 
he  is  worth  twice  the  money. 

Mr.  G. — One  thousand. 

A. — One  thousand  is  bid!  One  thousand  dollars. 
Make  it  eleven  hundred,  Mr.  Brown. 

Mr.  B. — Eleven  hundred. 

Mr.  G. — Twelve  hundred. 

A. — That  is  right,  gentlemen,  keep  it  going.  Here 
is  a  fine  prize  for  the  man  who  has  the  nerve  to  pay 


152  SERVING  IN  NEWNESS  OF  LIFE 

the  price.  Twelve  hundred  dollars!  Going  at  twelve 
hundred.  Make  it  thirteen,  Mr.  Brown. 

Mr.  B. — Thirteen  hundred. 

Mr.  G. — Fourteen  hundred. 

A. — Mr.  Grace  bids  fourteen  hundred!  Only  four- 
teen hundred  dollars  for  this  handsome  prize! 

Colored  Man. — Gentlemen,  don't  waste  your  money 
on  me.  I  am  not  worth  fourteen  cents  to  any  man.  I 
have  worked  my  last  hour  as  a  slave.  You  may  flog  or 
starve  or  hang — I  covet  death  !  I  want  to  die !  But  work 
as  a  slave,  I  never  will — no,  not  for  an  hour! 

The  calm  but  defiant  decision  pictured  in  his  face,  the 
firmness  in  his  tone,  the  fire  that  flashed  from  his  eyes 
stunned  the  auctioneer  for  a  moment.  Recovering,  he 
said: 

"Gentlemen,  pay  no  attention  to  his  talk ;  you  can  take 
all  this  out  of  him  in  fifteen  minutes  with  a  good  black 
snake.  Go  on  with  your  bidding,  gentlemen. 

"Mr.  Grace  bids  fourteen  hundred  dollars !  Make  it 
fifteen,  Mr.  Brown!  No?  What,  afraid  of  the  man? 
Going  at  fourteen  hundred  dollars!  Are  you  all  done? 
Fourteen  hundred  dollars,  once — fourteen  hundred  dol- 
lars, twice — third  and  last  call — sold  to  Mr.  Grace  for 
fourteen  hundred  dollars." 

The  man  steps  down  from  the  block  and  with  Mr. 
Grace  walks  away  from  the  crowd.  Drawing  his  check- 
book from  his  pocket  Mr.  Grace  begins  writing  a  check 
for  the  price  of  his  man. 

Colored  Man — Mr.  Grace,  don't  you  pay  fourteen  hun- 
dred dollars  for  me.  You  have  bought  a  dead  man.  I 
will  die  willingly,  yes,  gladly,  but  I  will  never  work  an 
hour  as  your  slave.  I  give  you  this  final  warning,  don't 
pay  fourteen  hundred  dollars  for  a  dead  man. 

Mr.  Grace  continues  to  write  the  check,  and  when 
finished,  he  hands  it  to  a  messenger  who  carries  it  to  the 


SERVING  IN  NEWNESS  OF  LIFE  153 

former  owner.  Then  addressing  the  colored  man,  he 
said: 

"Sam,  you  are  a  free  man.  I  bought  you  to  set  you 
free.  You  are  not  my  slave,  you  are  your  own  free  man. 
I'll  take  those  handcuffs  off." 

The  colored  man  was  staggered  and  stunned  by  this 
sudden  announcement.  He  stood  speechless,  startled, 
trembling  in  every  limb. 

Recovering  his  speech,  he  said : 

"Mr.  Grace,  do  you  mean  that  you  paid  fourteen  hun- 
dred dollars  of  your  good  money  to  set  this  poor  man 
free?" 

"That  is  what  I  said  and  that  is  what  I  mean.  All 
the  time  you,  as  my  enemy,  were  hurling  your  defiance, 
I,  as  your  friend,  was  purchasing  your  freedom." 

Colored  Man — O  Mr.  Grace,  I  tiove  you!  I'll  work 
for  you  just  as  long  as  I  live.  Let  me  go  home  with  you. 
I  want  to  show  you  that  underneath  this  colored  breast 
there  beats  a  heart  that  can  feel  and  respond  to  love  like 
yours.  Let  me  go  home  with  you.  I  want  to  work  for 
you  forever  because  I  love  you. 

Mr.  Grace — All  right,  Sam,  come  along,  but  remem- 
ber, you  are  not  my  slave  nor  do  I  want  you  to  work  to 
pay  for  your  freedom ;  that  is  the  free  gift  of  my  grace 
to  you. 

Colored  Man — Oh,  I  understand.  I  won't  try  to  pay 
for  it,  but  I  will  try  to  show  how  I  appreciate  your  gift 
by  my  labor  of  love. 

Reader,  do  you  see  it?  Do  you  see  the  true  motive 
for  commandment-keeping?  Do  you  see  the  only  place 
for  works  in  the  plan  of  salvation? 

This  is  what  the  Apostle  Paul  saw  and  this  is  what 
so  mightily  moved  his  heart  to  go  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  crying,  "By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith ;  and 
that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the  gift  of  God:  not  of 


SERVING  IN  NEWNESS  OF  LIFE  155 

works,  lest  any  man  should  boast.  For  we  are  His  work- 
manship, created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which 
God  foreordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them."  Eph. 
2:8-10. 

This  is  the  only  place  for  commandment-keeping  in 
the  plan  of  redemption,  the  only  place  in  the  preaching 
of  redemption  or  in  the  redeemed  man's  life. 

"We  love  Him  because  He  first  loved  us."  "If  ye 
love  Me,  keep  My  commandments."  "This  is  the  love 
of  God  that  we  keep  His  commandments,  and  His  com- 
mandments are  not  grievous."  1  John  4:19;  John  14:15  ; 
1  John  5 :  2. 

"He  that  saith  I  know  Him  and  keepeth  not  His 
commandments,  is  a  liar  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him/' 
I  John  2:4. 


XXVIII 

"DOTH  NOT  THE  SON   BEAR  THE   INIQUITY  OF  THE 
FATHER?  " 

No,  no!  Praise  the  Lord!  The  glorious  gospel  of 
the  blessed  God  answers  the  above  question  with  a  prompt 
and  positive,  No ! 

"The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me  again,  saying: 
What  mean  ye,  that  ye  use  this  proverb  concerning  the 
land  of  Israel,  saying,  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour 
grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge?  As  I 
live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  ye  shall  not  have  occasion  any 
more  to  use  this  proverb  in  Israel." 

"Yet  say  ye,  Why  ?  Doth  not  the  son  bear  the  iniquity 
of  the  father?  When  the  son  hath  done  that  which  is 
lawful  and  right,  and  hath  kept  all  my  statutes  and  hath 
done  them,  he  shall  surely  live.  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it 
shall  die.  The  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the 


156  "DOTH  NOT  THE  SON  BEAR 

father,  neither  shall  the  father  bear  the  iniquity  of  the 
son:  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall  be  upon 
him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon 
him."  Ezek.  18:1-3,  19,20. 

The  Lord  hath  sworn  by  His  life  that  the  son  shall 
not  die  because  he  was  born  a  wicked  son  of  a  wicked 
father,  and  that  the  father,  who  received  a  sinful  nature 
from  his  father,  shall  not  die  because  he  transmitted  that 
sinful  nature  to  his  son.  The  son  shall  not  die  for  his 
sins  which  he  committed  because  he  was  born  a  son  of 
a  wicked  father ;  but  for  his  own  sins.  The  father  shall 
not  die  for  the  sins  which  he  committed  as  a  result  of 
receiving  from  his  father  a  sinning  nature,  nor  for  the 
sins  which  he  committed  in  the  sinning  life  which  he 
transmitted  to  his  son. 

But  have  not  the  fathers  sinned  in  the  sinful  life 
which  they  transmitted  to  their  sons,  just  as  the  parent 
apple  tree  bears  apples  in  the  baby  tree  which  springs 
from  its  roots?  Yes.  And  have  not  sons  sinned  in  the 
sinful  life  which  they  received  from  their  fathers,  just  as 
the  infant  apple  tree  bears  fruit  with  the  life  received 
from  the  parent  root?  Yes.  And  is  not  the  wages  of 
sin  death?  Yes.  Why,  then,  do  not  the  father  and  son 
die  for  this  inherited  sinning?  Because  of  the  cross  of 
Calvary. 

This  same  theme  is  dealt  with  by  the  Lord  through 
the  prophet  Jeremiah.  The  same  fatalistic  proverb  was 
current  in  the  time  of  Jeremiah;  the  same  charge  was 
made  of  injustice  against  God  in  punishing  the  son  for 
the  sin  of  the  father.  But,  through  Jeremiah,  the  Lord 
again  denies  the  doctrine  that  He  punishes  men  for  the 
sins  which  they  commit  as  slaves  of  a  sinful  nature  which 
they  inherited  from  their  fathers.  And  in  this  denial  the 
Lord  brings  us  to  the  cross  of  Calvary.  In  fact,  it  is 
through  the  cross  of  Calvary  that  the  Lord  is  able  to 


THE  INIQUITY  OF  THE  FATHER?"  157 

say  that  the  son  shall  not  die  for  the  sins  committed  in 
his  sinful  nature  inherited  from  a  sinful  father.  Let  us 
study  this  blessed  gospel  through  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 

"In  those  days  they  shall  say  no  more.  The  fathers 
have  eaten  a  sour  grape,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set 
on  edge.  But  every  one  shall  die  for  his  own  iniquity: 
every  man  that  eateth  the  sour  grape,  his  teeth  shall  be 
set  on  edge."  Jer.  31 :  29,  30. 

The  meaning  of  this  proverb  in  the  mind  of  the  people 
was  that  the  son  was  punished  for  the  sins  of  the  father. 
The  father  ate,  and  the  son  suffered  the  result.  The 
father  sinned,  and  the  son  died  in  consequence.  But  in 
saying  that  the  son  was  made  a  sinner  by  the  sinning 
father,  did  they  not  state  a  Bible  truth?  Most  certainly 
they  did.  Paul  states  the  same  truth  thus :  "By  one  man's 
disobedience,  the  many  were  made  sinners." 

Is  it  not  also  true  that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  and 
that  therefore  one  man's  sin  brought  death  upon  all  his 
sons?  Yes;  for  the  same  scripture  says,  "By  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin."  Rom.  5 :  12. 

Consequently  when  they  said,  "The  fathers  have  eaten 
a  sour  grape,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge," 
or,  in  plain  words,  the  fathers  have  sinned,  and  we,  their 
sons,  must  suffer  in  consequence,  they  were  speaking  the 
truth  //  there  were  no  cross  of  Calvary. 

But  the  Lord  promises  to  stop  this  saying.  He  prom- 
ises to  do  that  which  shall  leave  no  occasion  for  this 
grave  charge  of  injustice  against  Him.  "As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  ye  shall  not  have  occasion  any  more  to 
use  this  proverb  in  Israel."  Here  the  Lord  swears  by 
His  life  that  He  will  not  punish  the  son  for  the  sins  of 
the  father.  "The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.  The  son 
shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father."  Ezek.  18 :  3,  20. 

But  if  the  son  does  not  die  for  the  sins  which  he  has 
committed  in  his  father,  with  the  life  which  he  drew  as 


158  "DOTH  NOT  THE  SON  BEAR 

a  shoot  from  the  roots  of  his  father,  then  some  other  son 
must  die,  for,  "The  wages  of  sin  is  death,"  and,  "With- 
out shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission"  of  sins. 

Before  going  farther,  let  us  stop  to'  emphasize  the 
fact  that,  without  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world,  the  proverb  of  the  people,  that  the  son 
must  suffer  for  the  sins  of  the  father,  was  a  terrible  truth. 
As  stated  before,  we  did  not  make  ourselves  sinners.  I 
did  not  make  myself  a  sinner.  Your  sins  which  you  com- 
mitted did  not  make  you  a  sinner.  "By  one  man's  dis- 
obedience, the  many  were  made  sinners."  Your  sinning 
did  not  make  you  a  sinner.  Reader,  you  sinned  because 
you  were  born  a  sinner. 

The  crab-apples  on  a  crab-apple  tree  did  not  make  it 
a  crab-apple  tree.  It  was  a  crab-apple  tree  years  before 
any  apples  appeared.  It  was  a  crab-apple  tree  because  it 
was  born  from  a  crab-apple  seed.  It  bore  crab-apples 
simply  as  a  result  of  having  been  born  of  a  crab-apple 
seed. 

In  like  manner  our  sinning  did  not  make  us  sinners. 
We  were  sinners  before  we  sinned.  We  were  sinners 
because  we  were  born  of  sinful  seed,  because  we  sprang 
from  the  root  of  Adam.  Just  as  all  crab-apple  trees 
sprang  from  the  first  crab-apple  seed,  so  all  sinners  sprang 
from  the  first  sinful  seed, — sinful  Adam. 

It  was  father  Adam's  eating  that  set  the  world's  teeth 
on  edge.  It  was  Adam's  transgression  which  made  a 
world  of  transgressors.  When  Adam  sinned,  all  the 
world  sinned,  because  all  the  world  were  in  the  loins  of 
Adam  when  Satan  met  him.  Therefore  when  the  people 
said  that  the  son  bore  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  and 
must  die  for  the  iniquities  ef  the  fathers,  they  told  the 
truth, — unless  the  Creator  shall  redeem  the  son  from  the 
sinning  of  the  sinful  nature  inherited  from  the  father. 

When,  therefore,  the  God  of  all  grace  swore  by  His 


THE  INIQUITY  OF  THE  FATHER?"  159 

life  that  He  would  not  punish  the  son  for  the  sinning 
received  from  the  father,  He  was  preaching  the  precious 
promises  of  the  new  covenant. 

It  will  interest  the  reader  if  he  has  not  noted  it  be- 
fore, to  observe  that  this  scripture  which  we  have  been 
studying,  and  from  which  we  have  just  drawn  this  blessed 
gospel  conclusion,  is  but  the  preamble  of  the  new  cove- 
nant. You  may  not  have  connected  these  two  things  be- 
fore, but  they  are  certainly  parts  of  one  gospel  whole; 
for  it  is  by  the  new  covenant  that  the  Lord  saves  the  son 
from  the  penalty  of  the  sins  which  he  has  committed  in 
his  father.  It  is  by  the  new  covenant  that  He  puts  His 
Son  in  the  place  of  earth's  sinning  sons,  and  then  lays  on 
Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  It  is  through  the  new  cove- 
nant that  He  gathers  up  all  the  iniquities  committed  by 
the  first  Adam  in  the  lives  of  all  His  children, — all  the 
world, — and  puts  those  sins  on  His  Lamb,  the  Lamb  of 
God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 


XXIX 

"VISITING  THE  INIQUITIES    OF  THE  FATHERS  UPON 
THE  CHILDREN" 

At  this  point  the  reader  may  remember  the  statement 
found  in  the  second  commandment,  a  part  of  which  con- 
stitutes the  heading  of  this  chapter,  and  wonder  how  the 
sworn  statement  of  God  that  He  would  not  punish  the 
son  for  the  sins  of  the  father,  is  to  be  harmonized  with 
this  statement. 

Whether  we  can  see  the  harmony  or  not,  the  harmony 
exists,  for  God  cannot  lie.  What  He  says  in  the  second 
commandment  He  will  do,  that  He  will  surely  do.  And 
what  He  says,  through  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  He  will  not 
do,  that  He  certainly  will  not  do. 


160  "VISITING  THE  INIQUITIES  OF 

Let  us  now  look  carefully  at  the  statement  of  God  in 
the  second  commandment.  It  does  not  read,  "Visiting 
the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  that  hate  me  upon  the  chil- 
dren unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation."  It  does 
read,  "Visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
that  hate  me." 

It  is  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  children  who 
hate  God  that  are  visited  with  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers. 
God  does  not  visit  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  anv 
generation  of  children  which  does  not  hate  Him,  but  only 
on  the  generation  of  children  which  hate  Him. 

But  the  reader  may  say  that  while  this  is  true,  still 
God  does  visit  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  sons 
who  hate  Him.  Yes,  He  does;  but  He  does  not  punish 
any  son  for  any  sin  of  the  father  which  that  son  does  not 
himselj  commit.  It  is  because  the  God-hating  son  him- 
self recommits  the  sin  of  his  God-hating  father,  that  he 
is  punished,  and  for  no  other  reason. 

Just  as  surely  as  God  has  sworn  by  His  life,  "The 
son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,"  so  surely 
the  Lord  will  not  visit  any  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  sons,  except  those  iniquities  which  the  God-hating 
sons  shall  themselves  re-enact,  with  their  own  chosen 
hateful  hearts,  and  thus  make  their  own  personal  sins. 
That  this  is  true  is  made  very  clear  by  our  Lord  in  pre- 
dicting the  punishment  that  was  to  fall  upon  the  Jews  of 
that  generation.  Upon  that  generation  He  said  should 
"come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  upon  the  earth,  from 
righteous  Abel  unto  the  blood  of  Zacharias." 

Certainly  this  is  as  strong  a  statement  as  is  found  in 
the  second  commandment.  In  fact,  it  is  the  same  state- 
ment intensified.  In  it  the  Lord  Jesus  says  in  substance 
that  all  the  sins  of  the  persecuting  fathers  from  the  days 


THE  FATHERS  UPON  THE  CHILDREN"        161 

of  righteous  Abel  to  the  days  of  Zacharias  were  to  be 
visited  upon  their  children  of  that  generation. 

Now  that  we  have  a  statement  of  the  Lord  exactly 
similar  to  His  statement  in  the  second  commandment,  let 
us  hear  Him  explain  His  second  statement;  for  in  ex- 
plaining the  second  statement  He  will  explain  the  first. 
Remember,  we  said  that  the  only  iniquities  of  the  fathers 
\vhich  would  be  visited  upon  the  sons  were  those  iniquities 
of  the  fathers  which  the  sons  should  re-enact  by  their 
own  wilful  sinning,  and  thus  make  them  their  own  sins. 
This  is  the  meaning  which  the  Lord  Himself  gives  to 
His  terrible  promise  to  visit  all  the  iniquities  of  all  the 
fathers  upon  that  generation. 

The  measure  of  the  fathers'  sins  was  not  yet  full  and 
could  not  be  visited  upon  the  sons  of  that  generation, 
who  had  not  committed  those  sins.  The  measure  of  their 
fathers'  sins  stood  waiting  to  be  -filled.  Hence  the  Lord 
said,  "Fill  up,  then,  the  measure  of  your  fathers."  It 
was  the  sins  which  the  sons  were  yet  to  commit  as  a  re- 
sult of  their  rejection  of  Christ  that  would  refill  the  meas- 
ure of  their  fathers'  sins. 

That  this  is  the  truth  is  clearly  stated  by  our  Lord,  as 
follows :  "Fill  ye  up  then  the  measure  of  your  fathers." 
"Wherefore,  behold,  I  send  unto  you  prophets,  and  wise 
men,  and  scribes:  and  some  of  them  ye  shall  kill  and 
crucify ;  and  some  of  them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your  syna- 
gogues, and  persecute  them  from  city  to  city:  that  upon 
you  may  come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  upon  the 
earth,  from  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel  unto  the  blood  of 
Zacharias,  son  of  Barechias,  whom  ye  slew  between  the 
temple  and  the  altar.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  All  these 
things  shall  come  upon  this  generation."  Matt.  23 :  32-36. 

Notice,  the  Lord  does  not  say  they  have  committed 
all  these  sins  of  their  fathers,  but  that  in  continuing  in 
their  fathers'  work  of  killing  the  prophets  they  would 


162  "VISITING  THE  INIQUITIES  OF 

commit  those  sins.  How  would  they  commit  them  ?  By 
continuing  to  do  the  things  which  their  fathers  did,  they 
would  thereby  endorse  their  fathers'  iniquities.  And  the 
iniquities  which  they  endorse,  in  heart 'they  recommit. 
Their  future  sinning,  in  view  of  the  light  which  they 
had  and  would  receive,  would  be  so  aggravated  as  to  in- 
clude the  sins  of  their  fathers.  Their  future  sinning 
would  therefore  be  the  filling  up  of  the  measure  of  their 
fathers,  that  is,  a  re-enacting  of  all  those  sins, — making 
all  those  sins  their  own  sins. 

But  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  sinning  chil- 
dren are  not  to  be  punished  for  the  sins  of  their  fathers 
which  they  never  committed,  but  for  those  sins  of  their 
fathers  which  they  recommitted  and  thereby  made  their 
own  sins. 

It  is  in  this  sense,  and  in  this  sense  alone,  that  the  sin- 
ner is  punished  for  sins  which  he  committed  in  his  weak- 
ness and  ignorance, — sins  which  were  atoned  for  by  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ.  When  the  sinner  continues  in  those 
sins  after  he  comes  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  that 
Christ  bore  them,  he  endorses  those  sins  which  have  been 
thus  borne,  and  thereby  re-enacts  them  in  heart  as  his 
own  wilful  sins. 

But  bear  in  mind,  he  is  not  punished  under  the  guilt 
of  those  sins  whose  guilt  was  laid  upon  Christ;  but  for 
the  sins  re-enacted  after  they  had  once  been  borne, — 
after  they  had  once  crucified  the  Son  of  God.  Just  as 
the  generation,  to  whom  Christ  was  speaking  was  not 
punished  for  the  sins  of  their  fathers  which  they,  the 
children,  never  committed,  but  for  those  sins  of  their 
fathers  which  they  re-committed  and  the  guilt  of  which 
they  thereby  incurred  as  their  own  guilt;  just  so  the  sin- 
ner is  not  punished  for  sins  which  have  already  met  their 
punishment  in  the  sinner's  Substitute,  but  for  a  wilful 
re-enactment  of  those  sins. 


THE  FATHERS  UPON  THE  CHILDREN"        163 

A  person  would  not  be  held  morally  responsible  for 
thefts  committed  while  temporarily  insane.  But  after  he 
was  delivered  from  that  weakness  of  mind,  if  he  did  not 
repudiate  those  acts,  but  justified  them  by  continuing  in 
them,  he  would  thereby  endorse  them,  and  make  himself 
morally  responsible  for  all  his  acts  done  in  that  time  of 
weakness  and  ignorance.  In  like  manner  the  sinner  is 
not  punished  for  sins  committed  in  ignorance  and  weak- 
ness, because  those  sins  have  met  their  punishment  in  his 
Substitute,  he  is  punished  for  a  continuance  in  those  sins 
after  he  comes  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  which  de- 
livers him  from  them,  for  by  continuing  in  them  he  en- 
dorses them  and  thereby  makes  them  his  own. 

In  like  manner  the  unmerciful  servant  in  the  parable 
of  Matthew  18,  was  turned  over  to  the  tormenters,  not 
for  his  former  debts,  for  all  those  debts  had  been  for- 
given, but  for  what  he  did  as  a  forgiven  debtor.  For  in 
that  one  unmerciful  act  there  was  involved  and  incurred 
all  the  guilt  which  had  been  incurred  by  his  former  for- 
given debts.  It  was  for  this  one  unmerciful  act  that  he 
was  punished,  and  not  for  the  debts  which  had  been  for- 
given. 

"Ye  were  redeemed,  not  with  corruptible  things,  with 
silver  or  gold,  from  your  vain  manner  of  life  handed 
down  [inherited]  from  your  fathers :  but  with  the  prec- 
ious blood,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without 
spot,  even  the  blood  of  Christ."  1  Pet.  1 : 18,  19.  (R.  V.) 

Christ  has,  therefore,  redeemed  us  by  His  blood  from 
the  sins  of  the  sinful  nature  "handed  down,"  that  is,  in- 
herited, from  our  first  father — Adam.  With  this  agree 
the  words  of  the  Lord  through  the  Apostle  Paul,  as 
follows : 

"For  if,  by  the  trespass  of  the  one,  death  reigned 
through  the  one;  much  more  shall  they  that  receive  the 
abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness  reign 


164      "VISITING  THE  INIQUITIES  OF  THE  FATHERS" 

in  life  through  the  one,  even  Jesus  Christ.  So,  then,  as 
through  one  trespass  the  judgment  came  unto  all  men  to 
condemnation ;  even  so  through  one  act  of  righteousness 
the  free  gift  came  unto  all  men  to  justification  of  life. 
For  as  through  the  one  man's  disobedience  the  many 
were  made  sinners,  even  so  through  the  obedience  of  the 
one  shall  the  many  be  made  righteous."  Rom.  5 :  17-19. 

(R.  v.) 


XXX 

THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY  IN  THE  NEW 
COVENANT 

In  the  ninth  and  tenth  chapters  of  Hebrews  the  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  contrasts  that  which  has  been  accom- 
plished by  the  new  covenant  with  that  which  has  been 
accomplished  by  the  old.  His  conclusions  are  stated  thus : 

"Christ  .  .  .  through  His  own  blood,  entered  in 
once  for  all  into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal 
redemption."  "Once  at  the  end  of  the  ages  hath  He  been 
manifested  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself." 
"By  which  will  [the  will  of  God]  we  have  been  sanctified 
through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once 
for  all."  "But  He,  when  He  had  offered  one  sacrifice 
for  sins  forever,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  .  . 
for  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected  forever  them  that 
are  sanctified."  Heb.  9: 12,  26;  and  10:  10,  14.  (R.  V.) 

Having  thus  witnessed  to  the  finished  work  of  Christ, 
the  apostle  brings  forth  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  bear  witness  to  the  same  blessed  truth  in  the  following 
words : 

"And  the  Holy  Ghost  also  beareth  witness  to  us :  for 
after  He  hath  said,  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make 
with  them  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord;  I  will  put 


IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT  165 

my  laws  on  their  heart,  and  upon  their  mind  also  will  I 
write  them;  then  saith  He,  And  their  sins  and  their 
iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more.  Now  where  remis- 
sion of  these  is,  there  is  no  more  offering  for  sin."  Heb. 
10:15-18.  (R.  V.) 

The  new  covenant  is  here  quoted  to  prove  that  the 
promise  of  God  to  remit  sins  and  to  remember  them  no 
more,  has  been  fulfilled.  For  just  as  surely  as  there  is 
no  more  offering  for  sin,  just  so  surely  has  the  whole 
world  obtained  remission  of  sins  in  that  one  offering.  It 
is  by  this  one  offering  that  all  the  sinning  sons  of  sinful 
Adam  have  been  pardoned  and  saved  from  the  iniquities 
which  they  committed  through  the  sinful  eating  of  their 
sinful  father  Adam. 

But  does  this  not  lead  to  universalism ?  No;  for  we 
have  before  proved  that  it  is  possible  for  the  sons  of 
Adam  to  sin  wilfully, — to  sin  on  their  own  responsi- 
bility,— "to  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh"  ; 
to  eat  of  the  sour  grapes  themselves  outside  of  Adam's 
eating;  to  commit  iniquity  on  their  own  initiative.  It  is 
for  these  iniquities  that  the  son  will  die.  "Every  one 
shall  die  for  his  own  iniquity.  Every  man  that  eateth 
the  sour  grapes,  his  teeth  shall  be  set  on  edge."  Thus  it 
is  plainly  declared  that  the  son  must  himself  eat  before 
the  Lord  will  pronounce  over  him  the  penalty  for  trans- 
gression. "As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  ye  shall  not  have 
occasion  any  more  to  use  this  proverb  in  Israel." 

"The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.  The  son  shall  not 
bear  the  iniquities  of  the  father,  neither  shall  the  father 
bear  the  iniquity  of  the  son;  the  righteousness  of  the 
righteous  shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the 
wicked  shall  be  upon  him."  Ezek.  18 :  20. 

But  how  can  the  promises  of  the  new  covenant  be  ac- 
complished as  these  scriptures  declare,  when  at  the  death 
of  Christ  all  who  were  still  unborn  were  included  in  those 


166  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY 

promises?  Besides,  how  can  it  be  that  the  promises  of 
the  new  covenant  are  fulfilled  when  one  of  them  promises 
to  write  the  law  upon  the  heart  of  all.  Again,  do  all  from 
the  least  to  the  greatest  know  the  Lord  ?  • 

Whether  we  can  understand  or  not,  makes  no  differ- 
ence, it  is  a  fact.  The  facts  are,  the  scriptures  present 
the  covenant  as  made,  and  it  is  best  to  believe  it  even 
though,  we  cannot  understand  it. 

But  we  can  understand  it  if  we  but  understand  with 
•whom  the  covenant  was  made.  Reader,  it  was  not  made 
with  you  personally,  for  you  were  not  yet  born  when  it 
was  ratified  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  It  was  not  made 
with  the  apostles  as  representatives  of  the  house  of 
Israel  and  Judah,  because  it  was  sealed  with  the  blood  of 
the  offering,  before  they  even  understood  that  the  cove- 
nant required  the  death  of  the  Lamb  of  God. 

Now  since  the  new  covenant  is  not  made  with  us  nor 
with  any  other  of  the  sinful  sons  of  Adam  personally, 
with  whom  was  it  made?  Let  the  scriptures  answer. 

"Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law?  It  was  added  be- 
cause-of  transgression  until  the  seed  should  come  to 
whom  the  promise  was  made"  (Gal.  3:19).  "Now  to 
Abraham  were  the  promises  spoken,  and  to  his  seed.  He 
saith  not,  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many ;  but  as  of  one,  And 
to  thy  seed,  which  is  Christ."  Gal.  3 : 16. 

Thus  it  is  plainly  stated  that  the  promises  of  the  new 
covenant  were  spoken,  not  to  the  many  of  the  house  of 
Israel  and  Judah;  but  to  the  head  of  the  house,  even 
Christ.  It  necessarily  follows  that  since  the  Father  spoke 
His  promises  of  the  new  covenant  to  Christ  as  the  head 
of  the  house  of  Israel  and  Judah,  it  must  have  been  the 
Son  as  surety  for  that  covenant  who  made  the  promises 
on  behalf  of  man  to  the  Father. 

Here  lies  the  blessed  truth.  The  Father  made  the 
promises  of  the  new  covenant  to  His  Son,  and  the  Son 


IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT  167 

made  the  promises  on  behalf  of  fallen  man  to  the  Father. 
Better  promises !  Yes,  praise  the  Lord !  Better  promises. 
As  much  better  as  the  promises  of  the  sinless  Son  of  God 
are  better  than  the  promises  of  the  sinning  sons  of  Adam. 

But  where  do  we  come  in?  "If  ye  be  Christ's,  then 
are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  prom- 
ise." All  the  people  of  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house 
of  Judah  to  whom  God  spake  the  promises  of  the  new 
covenant  were  in  Christ  when  God  spake  the  promises  to 
Him.  And  all  the  people  of  the  house  of  Israel  and  of 
the  house  of  Judah, — who  ever  will  speak  the  promises 
of  the  new  covenant  to  God, — have  already  spoken  them 
to  God  in  Christ  when  Christ  spake  them. 

The  new  covenant,  therefore,  is  a  covenant  made  be- 
tween the  Father  and  the  Son.  This  covenant  existed  in 
the  plan  of  God  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  It 
did  not  come  into  existence  at  the  time  when  God  made  it 
known  to  sinful  Adam  in  the  promise  that  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  It  did  not  origi- 
nate at  the  time  when  God  made  it  known  to  Abraham. 
Even  if  there  had  been  no  Abraham,  all  the  blessings  of 
the  new  covenant  would  have  been  bestowed  on  the 
world.  Neither  did  the  new  covenant  come  into  existence 
because  there  was  a  people  known  as  the  house  of  Israel 
and  another  as  the  house  of  Judah.  All  the  promises  of 
the  new  covenant  would  have  been  made  if  there  had  been 
no  house  of  Israel  and  no  house  of  Judah. 

That  which  called  forth  the  promises  of  the  new  cove- 
nant was  sinful  Adam.  The  new  covenant  promises  made 
known  to  Adam  and  Eve,  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to 
Israel,  were  simply  a  making  known  to  them  a  gospel 
which  in  the  purpose  of  God  was  purposed  in  Christ  be- 
fore the  foundation  of  the  world. 

"Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  every  spiritual  blessing 


168  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY 

in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ:  Even  as  he  chose  us  in 
Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Eph.  1 : 3,  4. 
(Am.  Standard.) 

This  scripture  plainly  declares  that 'God  blessed  us 
with  every  spiritual  blessing  in  Christ  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world.  And  since  the  blessings  of  the  new 
covenant  are  all  spiritual  blessings,  it  follows  that  the 
blessed  promises  of  the  new  covenant  were  made  to  us 
in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

"Even  as  He  chose  us  in  Him  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish 
before  Him  in  love:  having  foreordained  us  unto  adop- 
tion as  sons  through  Jesus  Christ  unto  Himself,  according 
to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will,  to  the  praise  of  the 
glory  of  His  grace,  which  He  freely  bestowed  on  us  in 
the  beloved:  in  whom  we  have  our  redemption  through 
His  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  our  trespasses,  according 
to  the  riches  of  His  grace."  Eph.  1 :  4-7.  (R.  V.) 

This  scripture  tells  us  that  these  spiritual  blessings  of 
the  new  covenant  are  all  summed  up  in  the  one  blessing 
of  sonship  which  He  freely  bestowed  on  us  in  the  be- 
loved. We  were  chosen  sons  of  God  through  Christ. 
And  this  glorious  grace  was  freely  bestowed  upon  us  in 
the  Beloved.  Hence  the  only  way  for  anyone  to  realize 
the  blessings  of  the  new  covenant  is  to  be  born  again,  to 
be  born  a  son  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  it  is 
plain  that  every  spiritual  blessing,  which  of  course  is 
every  blessing  of  the  new  covenant,  was  bestowed  upon 
Christ,  and  upon  us  only  as  we  are  in  Christ,  only  as 
we  are  born  sons  of  God. 

Inasmuch  as  this  covenant  was  made  with  Christ  be- 
fore we  were  born,  it  follows  that  it  was  not  made  with 
us  personally:  that  is,  apart  from  Him  "to  whom  the 
promise  was  made."  It  also  follows  that  as  the  covenant 
was  made  before  we  were  born,  we  can  have  no  share  in 


7.V  THE  XEW  COVENANT  169 

the  making  of  that  covenant.  And  inasmuch  as  the  bless- 
ings of  the  new  covenant  are  bestowed  upon  us  only  in 
Christ — that  is,  only  as  we  are  branches  of  the  True 
Vine,  only  as  we  are  sons  of  the  Everlasting  Father, — it 
follows  that  we  come  into  possession  of  the  promises  of 
the  new  covenant  not  by  making  the  new  covenant  with 
God  on  our  own  responsibility,  but  by  being  born 
again, — by  sharing  the  life  of  Him  who  is  the  last  Adam, 
with  whom  the  covenant  was  made  before  we  were  born, 
even  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  "If  ye  be 
Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according 
to  the  promise"  (Gal.  3:29).  "If  children,  then  heirs" 
(Rom.  8:  17).  "If  a  son,  then  an  heir  of  God  through 
Christ."  Gal.  4:7. 

But  if  the  new  covenant  is  made,  then  the  law  must 
be  written  upon  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  house  of 
Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah.  For  this  is  one  of  the 
spiritual  promises  of  the  new  covenant.  And  the  law  is 
there  written. 

Just  as  the  law  of  a  tree  is  all  written  upon  the  seed 
before  the  tree  appears,  so  the  law  was  written  upon  the 
Seed  of  Abraham  for  the  whole  family  tree  of  the  house 
of  Israel  and  house  of  Judah  before  we,  the  branches, 
appeared.  "If  the  root  be  holy,  so  are  the  branches" 
(Rom.  11 :  16)  ;  "I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches:  he 
that  abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much 
fruit:  for  apart  from  Me  ye  can  do  nothing."  John 
15:5.  (R.  V.) 

Yes,  the  law  was  written  upon  the  Seed,  upon  the 
Root,  upon  the  Vine,  for  all  branches  before  the  branches 
appeared.  Here  is  this  truth  plainly  stated.  "Lo,  I 
come:  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,  I 
delight  to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God:  yea,  thy  law  is  within 
my  heart."  Ps.40:7,  8. 

But  if  the  new  covenant  has  been  made,  then  all  the 


170  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY 

house  of  Israel  and  of  Judah  know  the  Lord  from  the 
least  to  the  greatest  of  them.  Certainly !  All  the  knowl- 
edge of  God  that  will  ever  be  known  was  known  in  the 
Son  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  was  revealed 
in  the  flesh  in  the  man  of  Nazareth.  "In  whom  are  hid 
all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge"  (Col.  2:3). 
"Neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and 
he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  him."  Matt.  1 1 : 27. 

This  knowledge  of  God,  like  the  law-written  heart,  is 
obtained  by  being  born  a  branch  of  the  Vine.  The  cry 
of  the  infant  son,  "Abba  Father,"  is  a  cry  of  recognition 
that  was  born  with  him.  "And  because  ye  are  sons,  God 
hath  sent  forth  the  spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts,  cry- 
ing, Abba,  Father"  (Gal.  4:6).  This  cry  of  recognition 
comes  with  the  new  birth, — with  the  new  life, — comes 
when  the  spirit  or  life  of  the  Son  is  sent  forth  into  our 
hearts. 

The  law  of  God  and  the  knowledge  of  God  are  insep- 
arable from  the  life.  They  are  both  in  the  life  of  Christ 
and  both  come  to  us  with  His  life.  All  who  are  in  Christ 
know  God  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of 
them. 

The  child  ten  months  old  does  not  need  the  child  ten 
years  old  to  give  it  an  introduction  to  its  mother.  It  is 
as  surely  acquainted  with  its  mother  as  the  older  child. 
Neither  does  the  child  of  God  ten  months  old  need  the 
child  ten  years  old  to  give  him  an  introduction  to  his 
Father. 

It  is  a  sad  fact  that  in  many  cases  the  child  ten  months 
old  is  better  acquainted  with  his  Father  than  the  child 
who  dates  his  birth  back  ten,  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty 
years.  All  of  the  knowledge  of  God  is  hidden  in  the 
Divine  Son  for  all,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  and  is 
to  be  revealed  in  the  branches  as  the  branches  spring 
forth  from  the  vine. 


IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT  171 

But  if  the  new  covenant  has  been  made,  then  the 
transgressions  of  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of 
Judah  have  been  pardoned.  For  the  last  promise  of  the 
covenant  is,  "I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  re- 
member their  sin  no  more."  Yes,  bless  the  Lord,  and 
this  has  also  been  done.  God  has  forgiven  us  all  in 
Jesus  Christ ;  "in  whom  we  have  redemption  through  His 
blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of 
His  grace."  Eph.  1 :  7. 

"And  you,  that  were  sometimes  alienated  and  ene- 
mies in  your  mind  by  wicked  works,  yet  now  hath  He 
reconciled  in  the  body  of  His  flesh  through  death."  Col. 
1 : 21,  22. 

"God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Him- 
self, not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them ;  .  .  . 
For  He  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no 
sin;  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  Him."  2  Cor.  5:19,21. 

"Ye  are  complete  in  Himt  ...  in  whom  ye  were 
(R.  V.)  circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made  with- 
out hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh 
by  the  circumcision  of  Christ."  Col.  2:  10,  11. 

When  Christ,  who  was  made  sin  for  us,  and  who 
bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,  was  "circum- 
cised" on  Calvary's  cross, — that  is,  when  He  was  cut  off 
in  death,  "we  were  circumcised,"  that  is,  cut  off  in  Him ; 
when  He  who  bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body,  was  cut 
off,  we  were  reckoned  cut  off  in  Him.  When  He  paid  the 
penalty  for  our  sins  in  His  death  on  Calvary,  we  were 
counted  as  having  paid  the  penalty  of  our  sins  in  His 
death.  Thus  circumcision,  which  was  a  cutting  off  of  a 
part  of  the  body  of  the  flesh,  was  a  type  of  the  crucifixion 
of  Christ ;  or  the  circumcising,  or  the  "putting  off  of  the 
body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh." 

O  yes!  it  is  done!    He  hath  forgiven  our  iniquities; 


172  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY 

He  hath  imputed  them  to  His  Son,  and  hath  not  im- 
puted them  to  us. 

That  this  promise  of  the  new  covenant  is  fulfilled  in 
Christ,  is  plainly  stated  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  uses 
this  promise  of  forgiveness  of  sins  to  sustain  his  posi- 
tion that  men  were  separated  from  sin,  or  "sanctified  by 
the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all." 

In  the  tenth  of  Hebrews  he  proves  that  the  one  of- 
fering of  Christ  did  what  the  repeated  offerings  of  the 
typical  system  could  not  do, — that  is,  put  away  sin  once 
for  all.  Notice  his  argument. 

Paul  says:  The  ministers  of  the  typical  service  "can 
never  with  those  sacrifices  which  they  offered  year  by 
year  continually  make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect.  For 
then  would  they  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered  ?  Because 
that  the  worshipers  once  purged  should  have  had  no  more 
conscience  of  sins.  .  .  .  For  it  is  not  possible  that  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sins."  Heb. 
10:1-4. 

Again,  "Every  priest  standeth  daily  ministering  and 
offering  ofttimes  the  same  sacrifices,  which  can  never 
take  away  sins :  but  this  man,  after  He  had  offered  one 
sacrifice  for  sins  forever,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of 
God ;  from  henceforth  expecting  till  His  enemies  be  made 
His  footstool.  For  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected 
forever  them  that  are  sanctified."  Vs.  11-14. 

Before  presenting  the  apostle's  quotation  from  the 
new  covenant  to  sustain  the  point  he  has  just  made,  get 
the  point  plainly  before  the  mind.  What  was  it  that  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  goats  could  not  do  ?  It  could  not  "take 
away  sin."  If  it  had  taken  away  sin,  "would  they  [the 
blood  of  bulls  and  goats]  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered?'' 
This  is  Paul's  argument.  Then  when  he  proves  that 
Christ  has  been  offered  once  for  all,  does  he  not  prove 
that  the  sins  for  which  he  has  been  offered  are  taken 


IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT  173 

away?  This  is  his  point.  Now  notice  how  he  uses  the 
new  covenant  promise  of  forgiveness  of  sins  to  sustain 
that  point. 

"Whereof  the  Holy  Ghost  also  is  a  witness  to  us :  for 
after  that  He  had  said  before,  this  is  the  covenant  that 
1  will  make  with  them  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord, 
I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  hearts,  and  in  their  mind 
will  I  write  them ;  and  their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will 
I  remember  no  more.  Now  where  remission  of  these  is, 
there  is  no  more  offering  for  sin."  Heb.  10:  15-18. 

In  this  manner  the  Apostle  Paul  uses  the  new  cove- 
nant promise  of  forgiveness  of  sins  to  prove  that  the  sins 
for  which  Christ  was  offered  were  remitted  when  that 
offering  was  made.  Just  as  certainly  as  "There  is  no 
more  offering  for  sin"  so  certainly  are  those  sins  re- 
mitted for  which  that  offering  was  made. 

"Then  doubt  not  thy  welcome,  since  God  hath  declared 

There  remaineth  no  more  to  be  done ; 
That  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  He  appeared, 
And  completed  the  work  He  begun." 

Yes,  the  Lord  has  written  the  law  upon  our  hearts  in 
Christ,  and  we  realize  this  truth  when  we  are  born  of 
Him.  "For  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus 
hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." 

All,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  have  now  a  knowl- 
edge of  God  in  Him,  "in  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge."  And  that  knowledge  is  real- 
ized in  us  when  by  faith  He  is  realized  in  us. 

Last  but  not  least,  we  have  now  the  forgiveness  of 
our  trespasses  in  Him,  "in  whom  we  have  redemption 
through  His  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  according 
to  the  riches  of  His  grace."  And  this  blessed  gospel  will 
be  realized  by  the  sinner  the  moment  he  believes  it. 

When  God  made  the  new  covenant  with  His  Son  and 
wrote  His  law  on  the  fleshy  tables  of  the  heart  of  the 


174  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY 

Son  of  Man, — the  last  Adam, — He  then  and  there  gave 
to  the  world,  in  Him,  all  the  blessings  of  the  new  cove- 
nant. And  these  blessings  are  realized  in  us  by  our  re- 
ceiving the  life  of  that  Son  of  Man,— rthat  is,  by  being 
born  again. 

We  were  born,  the  first  time,  sons  of  the  first  Adam, 
and  it  was  by  that  birth  that  we  received  all  the  curses  of 
the  covenant  of  death  which  Adam  made  with  Satan.  The 
wily  adversary  did  not  wait  until  a  child  was  born  before 
he  made  his  covenant  of  death  with  Adam.  If  he  had 
thus  waited,  he  would  have  had  to  make  a  covenant  with 
that  son  also,  or  that  son  would  have  been  free  from  the 
fall.  But  he  hastened  to  make  this  covenant  with  the 
head  of  the  human  race  before  the  first  child  was  born, 
well  knowing  that  if  he  should  be  able  to  write  the  law 
of  transgression  upon  the  heart  of  the  father  of  the 
human  family,  the  root  of  the  race,  he  would  by  that  one 
writing  inscribe  the  law  of  transgression  on  the  heart  of 
every  child  of  the  human  family,  every  sprout  from  that 
root,  every  branch  from  that  vine ;  and  the  children  would 
receive  all  the  curses  of  that  "covenant  with  death"  by 
simply  being  born  of  that  father. 

Reader,  you  were  not  present  in  person  when  that 
covenant  with  death  was  made,  but  you  were  present  in 
your  representative,  you  were  there  in  the  loins  orf  Adam 
when  the  adversary  met  him.  When  Adam  sinned,  you 
sinned  in  him.  This  sinning  was  made  manifest  in  you 
when  you  were  born.  By  your  birth  you  inherited  the 
curses  of  that  covenant  just  as  the  branch  inherits  the 
nature  of  the  vine.  Satan  did  not  need  to  make  that 
covenant  with  any  of  the  children  of  Adam ;  it  was  al- 
ready made  with  them  in  Adam.  All  that  was  necessary 
to  cause  them  to  realize  the  curses  of  that  covenant  was 
to  receive  the  life  of  Adam, — that  is,  be  born  of  him. 

In  like  manner,  God  does  not  make  a  covenant  with 


IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT  175 

each  individual  son  of  Adam.  It  would  be  useless  to  try 
to  write  His  spiritual  law  on  the  carnal  mind,  "for  the 
carnal  mind  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God  neither  in- 
deed can  be."  One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  carnal 
mind  is  that  of  "covenant-breakers."  The  old  covenant 
made  at  Sinai  is  an  illustration  of  how  impossible  it  is 
for  the  carnal  mind  to  keep  a  covenant  made  with  God. 
Consequently,  when  God  would  make  a  covenant  with 
the  human  family  he  made  it  with  His  Son,  the  last 
Adam.  When  he  would  write  His  law  upon  the  hearts  of 
the  human  race,  he  wrote  it  on  the  heart  of  the  new 
Head  and  Father  of  the  human  race,  the  last  Adam,  the 
Son  of  Man.  And  we  receive  the  blessings  of  that  cove- 
nant by  receiving  His  life.  "As  the  Father  hath  life  in 
Himself,  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Him- 
self." "Ye  must  be  born  again" 

But  how  can  it  be  said  that  the  new  covenant  was 
made  between  the  Father  and  the  Son  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world,  when  the  prophet  Jeremiah  presents 
it  as  a  promise  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  future?  The  plan 
of  salvation  was  laid  before  the  foundation  of  the  world 
in  the  Council  of  Peace  between  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
while  the  Son  was  the  Son  of  God,  before  He  was  made 
flesh, — before  He  became  by  His  incarnation  the  Son  of 
Man.  The  new  covenant  could  be  promised  by  the  Son 
of  God,  but  it  must  be  perfected  by  the  Son  of  Man. 

It  was  Adam  in  the  flesh  that  had  promised  and  failed, 
consequently  it  must  be  another  Adam  in  the  flesh  that 
promises  and  fulfills.  It  must  be  the  seed  of  the  woman, 
the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  Son  of  Man,  who  fulfills  the 
promises  where  man  has  fallen.  "For  since  by  man  came 
death  [through  disobedience]  by  man  came  also  the  res- 
urrection of  the  dead  [through  obedience].  For  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive. ' 
1  Cor.  15:21,22. 


176  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  LIBERTY 

According  to  the  covenant,  it  was  "the  seed  of  the 
woman"  that  should  "bruise  the  serpent's  head."  As  the 
'first  Adam"  had  stood  for  the  first  family  and  promised 
and  failed,  so  in  that  same  place  the  second  Adam  must 
stand  and  promise  for  the  second  family,  and  fulfill  where 
the  first  had  fallen.  This  He  did.  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom, 
and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  Rev. 
5:12. 

This  blessed  truth  is  thus  told  by  the  Apostle  Paul : 

'Thou  madest  him  [the  first  man]  a  little  lower  than 
the  angels;  thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honor, 
and  didst  set  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands ;  thou  hast 
put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet.  .  .  .  But 
vow  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him."  [Why? 
Because  he  has  fallen.  And  now  instead  of  all  things 
put  under  him  we  see  him  under  all  things.  But  keep 
looking  at  the  place  where  "the  first  man"  stood,  and 
you  will  see  the  "second  Man"  rise.  Keep  watching]. 

"But  now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him. 
But  we  see  Jesus  [the  second  man]  who  was  made  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels  [where  the  first  man  was  made] 
for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honor ; 
that  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for  every 
man.  For  it  became  Him,  for  whom  are  all  things,  and 
by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto 
glory,  to  make  the  captain  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  sufferings.  For  both  He  that  sanctifieth  and 
they  who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one:  for  which  cause 
He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  saying,  I  will 
declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren.  .  .  .  And  again, 
behold  I  and  the  children  which  God  hath  given  me.  For 
as  much  then  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and 
blood,  He  also  Himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same; 
that  through  death  He  might  destroy  him  that  had  the 


IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT  177 

power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage."  Heb.  2:7-15. 

It  was  to  the  seed  of  the  woman, — to  the  seed  of 
Abraham  that  God  made  the  promises  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, and  it  was  the  seed  of  the  woman, — the  seed  of 
Abraham, — the  Son  of  Alan,  who  must  make  and  fulfill 
the  promises  to  God  on  behalf  of  man.  Consequently,  it 
was  the  Son  of  Alan  who  said,  "I  have  kept  my  Father's 
commandments  and  abide  in  His  love."  It  was  the  seed 
of  Abraham  who  said  in  that  tragic  hour  of  Gethsemane's 
gloom,  with  face  bathed  in  the  blood  of  battle,  "Thy  will 
be  done!"  It  was  the  seed  of  the  woman  as  surety  of 
the  covenant,  He  who  had  placed  the  promise  "in  the 
volume  of  the  Book" ;  who  had  said,  "Lo !  I  come  to  do 
Thy  will,  O  God";  it  was  He  who  cried  on  Calvary's 
cross,  "It  is  finished!"  and  then  bowed  His  head  and 
died,  sealing  the  covenant  with  His  blood. 

The  writer  cannot  refrain  from  repeating  that  glor- 
ious hymn  of  exhortation  which  so  beautifully  and  scrip- 
turally  sets  forth  the  completed  work  of  Christ. 

"There  is  life  for  a  look  at  the  crucified  One, 

There   is    life   at   this   moment    for   thee; 
Then  look,  sinner,  look  unto  Him  and  be  saved, 
Unto  Him  who  was  nailed  to  the  tree. 

"Look!   look!    look!    and  live! 
There  is  life  for  a  look  at  the  crucified  One, 
There  is  life  at  this  moment  for  thee. 

"Oh,  why  was  He  there  as  the  bearer  of  sin. 

If  on  Jesus  thy  guilt  was  not  laid? 
Oh,  why  from  His  side  flowed  the  sin-cleansing  blood, 
Tf  His  dying  thy  debt  has  not  paid? 


178  LIBERTY  IN  THE  NEW  COVENANT 

"It  is  not  thy  tears  of  repentance  or  prayers, 

But  the  blood  that  atones  for  the  soul; 
On  Him,  then,  who  shed  it  thou  mayest  at  once 
Thy  weight  of  iniquities  roll. 

"Then  doubt  not  thy  welcome,  since  God  hath  declared 

There  remaineth  no  more  to  be   done; 
That  once,  in  the  end  of  the  world  He  appeared, 
And  completed  the  work  He  begun." 


XXXI 

THE  SLAVEMASTER  AS  MINISTER  OF  LIBERTY 

Would  you  see  him  who  once  held  the  spear,  but  now 
the  crucifix  ?  Would  you  see  the  devil  in  his  new  dress  ? 
Would  you  see  Satan  in  his  new  surplice?  Would  you 
hear  the  slavemaster  preach  liberty? 

You  shall  see  and  hear  him;  but  to  go  where  he  is 
we  will  pass  by  another  fakir  whose  tricks  will  help  us 
discover  the  deceptions  of  the  deceiver  when  we  come  to 
him. 

This  scene  is  located  in  Virginia,  and  the  time  is 
January  2,  1863,  the  day  after  President  Lincoln  issued 
his  famous  Emancipation  Proclamation  setting  free  four 
million  slaves.  A  man  stands  in  the  market  place  in  the 
center  of  a  vast  crowd  of  intensely  interested  colored 
people.  He  professes  to  be  a  commissioner  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  claims  that  the  Fed- 
eral Government  has  delegated  to  him  the  power  to  make 
men  free.  He  claims  that  he  holds  in  his  hand  the  bond- 
age or  freedom  of  every  colored  man.  He  declares  that 
it  is  in  his  power  to  enslave  or  set  free  according  to  his 
will ;  and  he  offers  to  make  free  and  keep  free  any  man 
or  woman  who  will  make  a  payment  to  him  and  keep 
making  payments  as  long  as  they  live. 


H    1 


180  THE  SLAVEMASTER  AS 

At  this  point  a  man  steps  upon  the  platform  and  un- 
masks the  deceiver,  thus : 

"This  man  is  not  a  commissioner  of  the  United  States 
Government.  He  is  a  deceiver.  He  has  no  power  to  set 
men  free.  The  freedom  which  he  offers  is  a  fraud.  He 
has  no  power  to  make  men  free,  and  no  power  to  keep 
them  free.  On  the  authority  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  I,  as  a  duly  accredited  commissioner,  an- 
nounce to  you  that  you  are  already  free.  Yesterday  the 
President  of  the  United  States  issued  an  Emancipatior, 
Proclamation,  from  which  I  read  the  following : 

"  'Now,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  Comman- 
der-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Army  and  Navy,  in 
time  of  actual  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  on  this  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  do  ordain  and  declare  that  all  persons 
held  as  slaves  within  the  designated  States,  are,  and 
henceforth  shall  be  free;  and  that  the  executive  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  including  the  military  and 
naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  such  persons/  ' 

"And  now  I,  as  commissioner  of  the  United  States, 
announce  on  the  authority  of  this  proclamation  that  you 
are  already  free, — free  without  money  and  without  price. 
Believe  the  proclamation  and  go  free.  Put  your  money 
again  into  your  purses.  Your  freedom  is  given  to  you 
as  freely  as  the  air  you  breathe.  Take  it  and  rejoice. 
This  man  is  a  fraud.  He  is  preaching  for  his  own  profit. 
He  is  persuading  you  to  pay  for  that  which  is  already 
yours.  He  is  defrauding  you.  Pay  no  heed  to  his  pre- 
tentions.  Believe  this  proclamation  and  go  free." 

Now  we  will  pass  on  to  where  the  prince  of  dark- 
ness, dressed  as  an  angel  of  light,  is  proclaiming  liberty. 


MINISTER  OF  LIBERTY  181 

No,  he  is  not  a  secularist ;  do  not  look  for  him  in  that 
hall  of  atheism. 

No,  he  is  not  in  that  mosque ;  he  is  not  a  Moslem. 

Did  not  the  Apostle  Paul  tell  us  to  look  for  him  in 
the  temple  of  God,  in  the  garb  of  an  apostle  of  Christ? 
We  must  look  for  him  where  professing  Christians  wor- 
ship. 

Here  is  a  magnificent  temple,  let  us  enter  here.  What 
sublime  singing!  What  beautiful  paintings  of  sacred 
scenes !  Christ  a  babe  in  the  manger ;  Christ  on  the  cross. 
Keep  in  mind  that  the  prince  of  darkness  is  disguised 
as  an  angel  of  light,  that  he  claims  to  be  an  apostle  of 
Christ,  and  that  his  disguise  is  so  perfect  "as  to  lead 
astray  if  possible  the  very  elect."  You  must  not  look  for 
a  clumsy  deception.  Listen!  He  is  speaking. 

"I  am  the  vicegerent  of  the  Son  of  God  on  earth.  I 
hold  in  my  hand  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  world.  To  me 
has  been  committed  the  treasures  of  the  grace  of  God. 
Whomsoever  I  choose  to  make  free,  is  free.  Whomso- 
ever I  choose  to  bind  is  bound  forever.  The  forgiveness 
of  sins  is  committed  to  me.  Whomsoever  I  choose  to  for- 
give, is  forgiven.  Whose  sins  I  refuse  to  remit  is  doomed 
to  dwell  forever  in  the  flames  of  the  damned.  I  hold 
not  only  the  eternal  destiny  of  the  living,  but  I  have  do- 
minion over  the  dead.  I  hold  the  keys  of  heaven,  earth, 
and  hell.  Would  you  be  free  from  your  many  sins,  ap- 
proach and  kneel  before  this  altar.  Would  you  see  jour 
loving  mother  who  now  writhes  in  the  flames  of  purga- 
tory delivered  from  her  unspeakable  miseries?  Would 
you,  fond  mother,  desire  to  see  that  infant  which 
died  in  your  arms,  and  is  now  frying  in  the  flames  of 
purgatory,  set  free  from  those  scorching  flames?  Would 
you  soothe  that  pleading,  piteous,  voice  of  infant  woe? 
Then  come  with  the  cash,  and  I,  in  the  place  of  Jesus 
Christ,  will  offer  for  you  on  this  altar,  the  body  and 


182  THE  SLAV  EM  ASTER  AS 

blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  an  offering  to  appease 

the  Father's  wrath." 

* 

Do  you  not  discern  the  deception?  Do  you  not  see 
that  he  is  a  false  apostle  ?  Do  you  not  s'ee  that  he  is  sell- 
ing for  money  the  grace  of  God  which  is  already  theirs  ? 
Do  you  not  see  that  like  the  seller  of  freedom  in 
Virginia,  this  man  is  attempting  to  sell  to  the  people  that 
which  God  has  already  given  them  in  Christ.  Now  listen 
while  the  true  ambassador  of  Christ  unmasks  the  fraud : 

"This  man  is  not  the  vicegerent  of  Christ,  but  the 
predicted  Antichrist  who  has  exalted  himself  to  sit  in 
the  temple  of  God  and  sell  for  money  that  which  God  has 
given  as  a  free  gift  to  the  world.  God  has  not  deposited 
in  any  mortal  man  the  gifts  of  redemption.  These  gifts 
are  all  deposited  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  I  have  in 
my  hand  a  copy  of  the  proclamation  of  liberty  which  the 
Father  of  mercies  has  proclaimed  to  the  world  in  Jesus 
Christ.  I  will  read  from  the  proclamation: 

"  'By  grace  have  ye  been  saved  through  faith ;  and 
that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the  gift  of  God:  not  of 
works,  that  no  man  should  glory.'  Eph.  2:8,  9.  R.  V. 

"  'Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings 
in.  heavenly  places  in  Christ:  according  as  He  hath 
chosen  us  in  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  Him  in 
love:  having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of  chil- 
dren by  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  His  will,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  His 
grace,  wherein  He  hath  made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved. 
In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  His  blood,  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  His  grace/ 
Eph.  1:3-7. 

(<  'And,  having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  His 
cross,  by  Him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  Himself ;  by 


MINISTER  OF  LIBERTY  183 

Him,  I  say,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in 
heaven.  And  you,  that  were  sometime  alienated  and 
enemies  in  your  mind  by  wicked  works,  yet  now  hath  He 
reconciled  in  the  body  of  His  flesh  through  death,  to  pre- 
sent you  holy  and  unblamable  and  unreprovable  in  His 
sight/  Col.  1 :  20-22. 

"  Tor  while  we  were  yet  weak,  in  due  season  Christ 
died  for  the  ungodly.  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man 
will  one  die:  for  peradventure  for  the  good  man  some 
one  would  even  dare  to  die.  But  God  commendeth  His 
own  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners, 
Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more  then,  being  now  justified 
by  His  blood,  shall  we  be  saved  from  the  wrath  of  God 
through  Him.  For  if,  while  we  were  enemies,  we  were 
reconciled  to  God  through  the  death  of  His  Son,  much 
more,  being  reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved  by  His  life.' 
Rom.  5:6-10,  R.  V. 

"  'So  then  as  through  one  trespass  the  judgment  came 
unto  all  men  to  condemnation;  even  so  through  one  act 
of  righteousness  the  free  gift  came  unto  all  men  to  justi- 
fication of  life.  For  as  through  the  one  man's  diso- 
bedience the  many  were  made  sinners,  even  so  through 
the  obedience  of  the  one  shall  the  many  be  made  right- 
eous.' Rom.  5:18,  19,  R.  V. 

"  'But  all  things  are  of  God,  who  reconciled  us  to 
Himself  through  Christ,  and  gave  unto  us  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation;  to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  Himself,  not  reckoning  unto  them 
their  trespasses,  and  having  committed  unto  us  the  word 
of  reconciliation.  We  are  ambassadors  therefore  on  be- 
half of  Christ,  as  though  God  were  entreating  by  us :  we 
beseech  you  on  behalf  of  Christ,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 
Him  who  knew  no  sin  He  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf . 
that  we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him.' 
2  Cor.  5:18-21,  R.  V. 


184  THE  SLAVEMASTER   AS 

"  'But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love 
wherewith  He  loved  us  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins, 
hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ,  (by  grace  ye  are 
saved;)  and  hath  raised  us  up  together, 'and  made  us  sit 
together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus;  that  in  the 
ages  to  come  He  might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  His 
grace  in  His  kindness  toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus. 
For  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith;  and  that  not 
of  yourselves:  it  is  the  gift  of  God:  not  of  works,  lest 
any  man  should  boast.'  Eph.  2 :  4-9. 

"The  true  apostle  of  Christ  is  not  the  fountain  of  for- 
giveness and  freedom.  He  is  but  the  herald  of  that  free- 
dom whose  fountain  is  Christ.  He  is  not  a  huckster  who 
hawks,  Tetzel-like,  the  gift  of  grace  for  a  price.  He  is 
a  royal  herald  who  announces  the  gift  already  given; 
and  calls  upon  the  people  to  accept  that  gift  by  faith  and 
be  free.  The  true  apostle  of  Christ  will  therefore  de- 
clare to  the  people  that  God  has  reconciled  them  to  Him- 
self by  the  death  of  His  Son.  This  is  what  I  declare 
unto  you  this  day ;  therefore  be  reconciled,  be  free.  God 
has  not  imputed  your  sins  unto  you,  but  has  imputed 
them  unto  His  Son. 

"  'Was  Paul  crucified  for  you  ?'  Was  that  man  yon- 
der crucified  for  you  ?  What  then  is  Apollos  ?  and  what 
is  Paul?  Ministers  through  whom  ye  believed.'  1  Cor. 
1:13;  3:5,  R.  V. 

"God  has  given  to  no  man,  and  to  no  organization  of 
men,  a  monopoly  of  His  mercy.  Just  as  the  proclamation 
of  liberty  to  the  American  slaves  was  made  without 
money  and  without  price,  and  just  as  the  commissioner 
was  a  herald  and  not  a  hoarder  of  that  liberty,  just  so 
the  apostle  of  Christ  today  is  a  herald  of  that  liberty 
already  granted.  He  is  not  the  Liberator.  He  does  not 
preach  himself,  but  Christ.  He  does  not  exalt  himself, 
but  the  Saviour  of  men.  He  does  not  bully  and  brow- 


MINISTER  OF  LIBERTY  185 

beat  the  sinner  with  the  weapons  of  a  self-appointed 
office.  He  beseeches  and  pleads  with  him  to  accept  of 
the  reconciliation  wherewith  he  has  been  reconciled. 

"That  man  yonder  proposes  to  offer  the  body  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  wrath  of 
God.  But  God  needs  no  appeasing.  God  is  reconciled. 
God  Himself  gave  the  gift  by  which  you  were  recon- 
ciled. 'God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  John  3:16.  'God 
commendeth  His  love  toward  us  in  that  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us.'  'For  if,  while  we  were 
enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through  the  death  of 
His  Son,  much  more  being  reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved 
by  His  life.'  Rom.  5  :  8-10. 

"For  that  man  to  attempt  to  offer  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  on  that  altar  is  but  to  deny  that  He  has  been 
offered.  It  is  to  deny  that  the  one  offering  which  God 
Himself  provided  in  the  person  of  His  Son,  was  ac- 
cepted. 

"No,  There  is  no  more  offering  for  sin'  (Heb.  10 : 18)  ; 
Tor  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected  forever  them 
that  are  sanctified/  Heb.  10:14.  'Nor  yet  that  He  should 
offer  Himself  often;  as  the  high  priest  entereth  into  the 
holy  place  every  year  with  blood  of  others ;  for  then  must 
He  often  have  suffered  since  the  foundation  of  the 
world:  but  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  He 
appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself. 
And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after 
this  the  judgment:  so  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear 
the  sin  of  many/  Heb.  9 : 25-28. 

"  'By  which  will  we  have  been  sanctified  through  the 
offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all.  And 
every  priest  indeed  standeth  day  by  day  ministering  and 
offering  ofttimes  the  same  sacrifices,  the  which  can  never 


186      THE  SLAVEM ASTER  AS  MINISTER  OF  LIBERTY 

take  away  sins :  but  He,  when  He  had  offered  one  sacri- 
fice for  sins  forever,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God ; 
from  henceforth  expecting  [waiting]  till  His  enemies  be 
made  the  footstool  of  His  feet.  For  by.  one  offering  He 
hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are  sanctified.  .  .  . 
Now  where  remission  of  these  is,  there  is  no  more  offer- 
ing for  sin.'  Heb.  10:  10-18.  (R.  V.) 

"When  that  man  professes  to  repeat  that  offering  he 
thereby  discredits  the  offering  already  made.  Just  as 
certainly  as  the  repetition  of  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  was  a 
proof  that  they  were  powerless  to  put  away  sin,  so  cer- 
tainly does  the  repetition  of  the  offering  of  Christ  make 
the  first  offering  of  none  effect,  and  is  equivalent  to  stat- 
ing that  the  blood  of  Christ  had  no  more  power  to  put 
away  sin  than  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats. 

"Pay  no  more  money  to  that  man  for  masses.  The 
sacrifice  has  been  made  by  Christ,  and  has  been  accepted 
at  the  mercy  seat  of  the  throne  of  God  once  for  all. 

"  'Once   for   all ;    oh,   sinner,   receive   it ; 
Once  for  all ;  oh,  brother,  believe  it ; 
Cling  to  the  cross,  the  burden  will  fall, 
Christ  hath  redeemed  us  once  for  all.'" 

Reader,  do  you  not  discern  the  difference  between  the 
true  and  the  false,  between  the  herald  of  liberty  and  the 
false  apostle?  This  is,  and  has  been,  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  two  through  all  the  .Christian  centuries.  And 
it  is  easy  to  see  why  the  deceiver  has  drenched  the  earth 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs.  If  the  true  apostle  is  be- 
lieved, the  false  will  lose  his  living.  This  is  the  secret  of 
the  Satanic  savagery  with  which  the  false  apostle  has  fol- 
lowed the  true  through  all  the  dark  ages. 


THE  AMBASSADOR'S  ENTHUSIASM  187 

XXXII 

THE  AMBASSADOR'S  ENTHUSIASM 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  true  ambassador  for  Christ, 
let  us  see  what  is  the  motive  and  mainspring  of  his  min- 
istry. Since  he  announces  freedom  without  money  and 
without  price,  what  is  it  that  makes  him  so  earnest,  so 
enthusiastic?  Why  is  it  that  he  risks  his  life,  yea,  gives 
his  life  freely,  while  spurning  to  sell  his  message  for 
money  ? 

Let  the  reader  call  to  mind  the  scene  in  chapter  four 
of  the  prostrate  man  with  bleeding  back  who  was  born 
a  slave,  and  whose  every  attempt  to  gain  his  freedom  was 
followed  by  failure,  and  added  oppression  and  punish- 
ment. Call  to  mind  how  he  heard  the  message  of  eman- 
cipation from  a  brother  freedman,  believed  the  message 
and  the  messenger,  and  with  joy  unspeakable  found  him- 
self a  free  man, — no  man's  property,  no  man's  beast  of 
burden,  no  man's  slave,  but  a  freeman  with  a  freeman's 
mind,  a  freeman's  heart,  a  freeman's  hand, — free  to 
think,  free  to  love,  free  to  labor,  free  to  go  and  free  to 
come. 

After  the  indescribable  sensation  of  joy  at  being  able 
to  see  with  a  freeman's  eyes,  speak  with  a  freeman's  lips, 
feel  with  a  freeman's  heart,  and  labor  with  a  freeman's 
hand;  after  his  face  has  been  fanned  by  a  freeman's 
breeze,  and  his  brow  kissed  by  a  freeman's  son,  what, 
reader,  would  you  think  would  be  his  next  thought? 
Would  it  not  be  the  unspeakable  joy  of  bringing  this  glad 
tidings  to  his  old  father  who,  with  white  hair  and  stoop- 
ing form,  is  tottering  beneath  his  burden  ?  Do  you  think 
he  would  stop  to  ask  the  value  of  the  "living"  or  the 


188  THE  AMBASSADOR'S  ENTHUSIASM 

weekly  wage?  Do  you  think  he  would  wait  to  tell  the 
good  news  until  he  should  be  honored  with  an  official 
recognition  by  some  freeman's  society? 

No,  never!  With  a  fleetness  of  -foot  never  before 
known  he  would  fly  across  the  intervening  fields,  and  as 
soon  as  he  comes  within  hearing  of  that  gray-haired 
father,  he  would  shout  the  glad  tidings,  "Father,  you  are 
free!  Mother  is  free!  brothers  are  free!  sisters  are 
free !  I  am  free !  we  are  all  free ! 

"Those  hands  are  your  own,  father.  Those  feet  are 
your  own.  Your  heart  is  your  own.  Your  mind  is  not 
master's;  your  mind  is  your  own.  The  President  of  the 
United  States  has  made  us  all  free.  And  there  is  noth- 
ing to  pay.  He  did  it  all  for  nothing.  Believe  it,  father, 
and  be  free.  I  believed  it,  and  see,  I  am  free." 

When  the  old  man  has  come  to  understand  his  ex- 
cited son,  and  to  realize  the  full  import  of  the  glad  tid- 
ings; when  with  feelings  too  deep  for  utterance  he  has 
fallen  upon  his  knees,  and  with  swelling  heart  and  heav- 
ing breast  has  whispered  into  the  ear  of  the  Almighty  a 
prayer  of  thanksgiving, — what  next  ?  When  the  new  am- 
bassador has  been  refilled  with  this  scene  of  inexpres- 
sible thanksgiving,  he  hastens  to  the  kitchen  where  his  old 
mother  is  finishing  the  last  score  of  the  four  score  years. 
and  finding  her  feeble  but  faithful,  he  folds  her  in  his 
arms,  and  with  almost  frantic  joy,  tells  her  his  Gospel, 
while  he  watches  her  wrinkled  face  for  the  first  flash  of 
liberty's  light;  what  then?  Again  refilled,  he  hastens 
away  to  the  brothers  and  sisters  to  break  the  glad  news, 
then  to  uncles  and  aunts  and  cousins. 

Does  he  stop  there?  No,  he  goes  on  until  every  soul 
on  the  plantation  has  heard  the  joyful  news. 

Does  he  stop  now?  No,  away  he  goes  to  the  nearest 
plantation  to  tell  the  joyful  story  made  new  by  the  joy 
of  each  rejoicing  freedman. 


THE  AMBASSADOR'S  ENTHUSIASM  189 

It  would  be  proper  for  him  to  receive  help  from  the 
Freedman's  Aid  Society  to  pay  his  expenses  from  planta- 
tion to  plantation,  for  food  and  for  clothing,  and  for 
shelter ;  but  for  telling  the  glad  tidings,  he  wants  nothing. 
The  surpassing  joy  of  breaking  the  glad  news  to  his  bur- 
dened, bruised,  and  bleeding  brothers  is  wage  enough  for 
his  willing  work. 

Reader,  why  is  it  there  is  so  little  enthusiasm  in  your 
announcement  of  your  freedom  in  Christ?  Why  is  it 
you  have  waited  for  recognition  from  some  conference  or 
committee?  Don't  you  believe  the  proclamation?  Is  it 
because  you  are  not  free?  Have  you  found  the  procla- 
mation false?  Why  is  it  then  that  your  efforts  are  so 
feeble  and  formal  ? 

Come,  brother,  come,  sister,  search  out  the  secret  of 
your  lack  of  enthusiasm.  If  it  lies  in  a  lack  of  consecra- 
tion, then  supply  that  lack.  Consecrate  all. 

If  it  lies  in  a  failure  to  forsake  some  sin,  forsake  it 
now. 

If  it  is  because  of  some  root  of  bitterness,  put  it  away. 

Find  the  cause  of  failure,  apply  the  remedy,  get  an 
experience  in  the  joys  of  freedom  that  will  make  you 
enthusiastic  to  tell  it  to  others.  There  are  many  of  God's 
freemen  still  in  fetters,  bound  because  they  do  not  know 
of  their  freedom. 

Believe  the  proclamation  yourself,  be  free,  then  pro- 
claim it  with  power.  God  wants  you  as  His  f reedman  to 
publish  His  proclamation;  and  there  is  no  joy  on  earth 
which  can  be  compared  with  the  joy  of  breaking  the  news 
of  liberty  to  a  freeman  in  fetters. 


190  HOW  GOD  OVERCOMES 

XXXIII 
HOW  GOD   OVERCOMES  WHEN  HE   IS  JUDGED 

''For  what  if  some  were  without  faith?  Shall  their 
want  of  faith  make  of  none  effect  the  faithfulness  of 
God?  God  forbid:  yea,  let  God  be  found  true,  but  every 
man  a  liar;  as  it  is  written,  That  thou  mightest  be  jus- 
tified in  thy  words,  and  mightest  prevail  when  thou  comest 
into  judgment."  Rom.  3 : 3,  4.  (R.  V.) 

Thus  plainly  is  it  stated  that  God  will  come  into  judg- 
ment, and  that  He  will  prevail  when  He  is  judged.  It  is 
also  stated  that  He  will  prevail  because  He  is  found  to 
be  faithful  and  true. 

Faithful  and  true  concerning  what? — concerning  the 
Gospel  of  His  grace,  of  course.  For  it  is  concerning  this 
that  man  has  proved  unfaithful.  It  is  because  of  the 
faithfulness  of  God  in  dealing  with  a  lost  world  through 
the  Gospel,  that  men  at  last  are  led  to  cry  out,  "Just  an<^ 
true  are  thy  ways  thou  King  of  saints."  This  will  be 
voiced  in  the  words  of  the  great  vindication  mass-meeting 
on  the  glassy  sea  before  the  throne  of  God,  when  the 
myriad  host  cries  with  one  voice,  "Just  and  true  are  thy 
ways,  thou  King  of  saints." 

This  enthusiastic  vindication  of  God  is  not  a  verdict 
which  is  forced  from  the  host  by  the  arbitrary  power  of 
the  King  on  the  throne.  God  will  take  no  pleasure  in  a 
vote  of  confidence  from  men  who  are  mere  machines. 
God  could  make  machines  which  would  look  like  men  and 
which  would  with  phonographic  mechanism  loudly  speak 
His  praise,  and  justify  Him  in  all  His  ways,  but  it  would 
be  a  lifeless,  heartless  vindication,  and  He  will  have  no 
such  worship.  God  seeketh  only  such  to  worship  Him 
who  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 


WHEN  HE  IS  JUDGED  191 

From  this  it  is  plain  that  this  vindication,  the  unani- 
mous verdict  of  the  whole  host,  is  the  hearty,  spontaneous 
overflow  of  intelligent  love  and  unfettered  loyalty.  There 
must  have  been,  therefore,  perfect  freedom  of  thought 
in  reaching  this  decision. 

Now  we  are  prepared  to  appreciate  a  supposed  judg- 
ment scene  in  which  one  of  the  finally  condemned  asks 
permission  to  speak  in  his  own  behalf, — in  his  own  de- 
fence. We  do  not  believe  that  any  man  will  make  any 
such  defence,  but  it  is  certain  that  God  would  grant  per- 
mission to  make  it  if  it  were  asked;  and  for  this  reason 
the  illustration  is  not  inconsistent,  and  can  therefore  serve 
to  illustrate  an  important  truth  of  the  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  blessed  God. 

Let  us  suppose  that  just  before  the  sentence  of  the 
judgment  is  executed  on  the  great  host  of  the  lost,  a 
man  steps  out  from  that  host,  and  standing  before  the 
great  white  throne,  speaks  thus: 

"Before  the  sentence  of  the  judgment  is  executed,  I 
ask  permission  to  speak  in  my  own  defence,  and  declare 
the  reasons  why  I  deem  it  unjust  that  I  should  be  pun- 
ished. May  I  speak?" 

Permission  being  granted,  the  man  speaks : 

"I  stand  here  today  a  condemned  man  under  sentence 
of  everlasting  destruction.  I  never  asked  to  come  into 
this  world.  I  was  born  into  this  world  without  my  con- 
sent. I  did  not  make  myself  a  sinner;  I  was  born  a 
sinner.  Father  Adam  made  me  a  sinner.  I  do  not  deny 
that  I  have  sinned,  but  the  sins  which  I  have  committed 
are  sins  which  I  committed  because  I  was  born  a  sinner ; 
and  the  Almighty  God  who  sits  upon  the  great  white 
throne  knows  that  I  was  born  a  sinner.  He  knows  I  am 
not  responsible  for  my  birth.  He  knows  that  I  was  born 
mortgaged  to  a  carnal  nature;  and  He  knows  that  that 
carnal  nature  was  too  strong  for  me,  and  that  I  could 


192  HOW  GOD  OVERCOMES 

not  keep  myself  from  sinning,  enslaved  as  I  was  by  my 
birth  to  a  body  of  death. 

"And  now  I  appeal  to  this  great  assembly;  I  appeal 
to  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  and  earth !  I-s  it  just  to  con- 
demn me  to  eternal  destruction  for  sins  which  I  com- 
mitted in  a  sinful  nature  which  was  forced  upon  me  at 
my  birth,  which  I  did  not  ask  for, — a  sinful  nature  which 
was  transmitted  to  me  by  the  fallen  father  of  the  race, — 
a  carnal  nature  which  was  my  master  and  which  I  could 
not  resist?  Is  it  just  to  punish  me  for  sins  which  were 
committed  by  a  carnal  nature  which  was  forced  upon  me 
in  my  birth,  and  which  I  could  no  more  change  than  the 
Ethiopian  can  change  his  skin  or  the  leopard  his  spots? 
I  repeat,  Is  it  just  to  condemn  me  to  destruction  for  sins 
committed  in  a  sinning  nature  that  was  bound  upon  me 
at  my  birth  by  a  sinful  father,  and  from  which  I  could 
not  escape?  Is  it  just  to  punish  the  son  for  the  sins  of 
the  father?" 

When  the  first  words  of  the  accuser's  challenge  are 
hurled  against  the  Most  High,  there  falls  a  holy  hush 
upon  the  great  host  of  the  redeemed,  and  in  subdued  si- 
lence, and  with  bated  breath,  but  throbbing  hearts,  they 
listen  to  the  terrible  challenge.  But  no  sooner  has  the 
accuser  ceased  to  speak  than  the  myriad  host  is  seen  to 
move  toward  the  throne  like  the  waves  of  a  mighty  sea, 
and  a  subdued  murmur  like  the  voice  of  many  waters  is 
heard,  asking  the  supreme  privilege  of  answering  the 
challenge  of  the  accusing  man. 

It  is  the  chief  of  sinners  who  is. chosen  to  answer  the 
charges.  Every  one  of  the  many  millions  of  unfallen 
angels  is  willing  to  undertake  to  answer  the  challenging 
man;  but  they  never  were  born  in  bondage  to  a  crushing, 
carnal  nature,  and  they  cannot  answer.  At  this  solemn 
crisis  God  needs  a  redeemed  sinner  from  the  same  tribe, 
nation,  and  tongue  to  vindicate  His  righteousness.  The 


WHEN  HE  IS  JUDGED  193 

citizens  of  the  unfallen  worlds  are  willing  to  undertake 
to  justify  their  God,  but  at  this  critical  moment  God 
needs  the  testimony  of  a  fallen  man,  born  in  sin,  con- 
ceived in  iniquity,  but  redeemed  by  the  gift  of  the  grace 
of  God,  to  silence  the  subtle  charge  of  the  accuser's  chal- 
lenge. 

The  chosen  man,  the  chief  of  sinners,  supported  by 
the  loving  hearts  of  the  myriad  host,  steps  forward,  and 
with  a  voice  clear  but  tender,  speaks  thus : 

"I  esteem  it  an  inestimable  privilege  to  bear  witness 
to  the  justice,  mercy,  and  wisdom  of  the  God  of  all  grace. 
Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth,  to  the  witnessing 
words  of  a  redeemed  sinner.  This  is  a  faithful  saying 
and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief.  I,  too, 
v/as  born  a  sinner.  I,  too,  inherited  a  sinful  nature.  I, 
too,  came  into  this  world  without  my  consent,  enslaved 
to  a  sinning  nature.  I  was  born  and  reared  beside  that 
man  who  has  just  spoken.  I  was  born  of  the  same  blood, 
nursed  in  the  same  nation,  taught  the  same  tongue.  I 
was  born  as  he  was  born ;  I  sinned  as  he  has  sinned. 

"But  he  has  not  spoken  all  the  truth.  Not  only  was 
he  born  a  sinner  without  his  personal  responsibility;  but 
he  was  also  redeemed  from  that  birth  without  his  per- 
sonal responsibility. 

"It  is  true  that  the  first  Adam  made  him  a  sinner; 
but  it  is  also  true  that  the  last  Adam  redeemed  him  from 
all  those  sins.  As  by  one  man's  disobedience  the  many 
were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  the  manv 
were  made  righteous. 

"Yes,  we  were  born  in  sin  together;  together  we 
sinned;  and  together  we  heard  the  glad  tidings  of  par- 
don and  deliverance.  My  neighbor  here  neglected  'so 
great  salvation.'  I  accepted  it.  He  is  not  condemned 
today  because  he  was  born  a  sinner  and  sinned  as  a 


194  HOW  GOD  OVERCOMES 

slave.  All  the  condemnation  which  came  upon  man, — 
upon  this  man, — through  the  sinning  of  Adam,  was 
placed  by  the  Father  of  mercies,  who  sits  here  upon  the 
throne,  upon  the  head  of  His  only  begotten  Son,  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  has  taken  away  the  sin  of  the  world ; 
and  He  bore  them  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree.  God 
was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,  not 
imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.  Instead  of  imput- 
ing this  man's  sins  unto  him;  instead  of  punishing  this 
man  for  the  sins  which  he  committed  with  the  Adam  na- 
ture, which  he  inherited  by  his  birth ;  instead  of  imputing 
them  to  this  man  and  punishing  him,  God  imputed  them 
all  to  His  Son,  and  His  Son  suffered  in  his  stead.  I, 
with  this  man,  was  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of 
His  Son;  but  he  refused  to  be  reconciled;  he  chose  to 
be  a  sinner;  he  sinned  wilfully.  He  sinned  upon  his 
own  responsibility.  He  is  not  condemned  today  because 
Adam  sinned;  he  is  not  punished  because  Adam  trans- 
gressed. All  the  condemnation  of  Adam's  transgression 
was  laid  upon  the  Lamb  of  God.  He  is  not  here  today 
a  lost  man  because  Adam  sinned,  either  in  the  beginning 
or  in  this  man.  He  is  here  because  he  himself  has  sinned 
by  his  own  choice.  He  sinned  wilfully  after  he  came  to 
a  knowledge  of  the  truth ;  and  there  is  not,  neither  could 
there  be,  any  sacrifice  for  wilful  sinning.  He  has  trampled 
upon  the  Son  of  God.  He  has  counted  the  blood  of  the 
covenant  whereby  he  was  sanctified  an  unholy  thing.  He 
has  done  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace.  He  has  crucified 
for  himself  the  Son  of  God  the  second  time.  Adam  in 
the  beginning,  and  in  this  man,  crucified  the  Son  of  God. 
And  the  Son  bore  those  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the 
tree;  but  this  man  has  committed  sins,  wilful  sins,  out- 
side of  the  sins  of  Adam.  He  has  himself  chosen  to  be 
a  sinner  by  refusing  the  Gospel  of  salvation  from  sin  so 
freely  bestowed  upon  him.  He  has  thereby  committed 


WHEN  HE  IS  JUDGED  195 

sins  for  which  there  was  no  provision  made  in  the  death 
of  Christ.  Sins  by  which  he  would  condemn  Christ  to 
die  again.  He  has  trampled  upon  the  blood  already  shed 
and  by  his  continual,  wilful  sinning  he  has  counted  the 
blood  of  the  covenant  whereby  he  was  sanctified  from  the 
sins  of  Adam,  no  more  sacred  than  the  common  blood  of 
?  beast  that  is  shed  at  the  slaughter. 

"My  neighbor  charges  God  with  injustice  in  his  con- 
demnation. He  claims  that  God  is  punishing  him  for 
his  birth  for  which  he  is  not  responsible.  He  claims  that 
he  is  to  be  punished  for  sins  committed  by  a  carnal  na- 
ture that  was  forced  upon  him  at  his  birth,  and  which 
he  was  powerless  to  resist.  In  the  name  of  the  Father  of 
mercies,  and  the  God  of  all  grace,  in  the  name  of  His 
Son,  Jesus,  who  tasted  death  for  every  man,  I  deny  the 
charge. 

"This  man  is  not  punished  for  anything  that  father 
Adam  has  done.  Long  ago  the  Father  swore  by  His  life 
that  He  would  not  punish  the  son  for  the  sins  of  the 
father. 

"Long  ago  the  Lord  declared  through  the  prophet 
Ezekiel;  'What  mean  ye,  that  ye  use  this  proverb  con- 
cerning the  land  of  Israel,  saying,  The  fathers  have 
eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on 
edge?  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  ye  shall  not  have 
occasion  any  more  to  use  this  proverb  in  Israel.  Behold, 
all  souls  are  mine;  as  the  soul  of  the  father,  so  also  the 
soul  of  the  son  is  mine:  the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall 
die.'  Ezek.  18:2-4. 

"When  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God  was 
proclaimed  to  me,  if  I  had  rejected  its  salvation  from 
sin  and  the  sinful  nature  which  was  bound  upon  me  by 
my  birth,  that  sin,  and  that  sinful  nature  from  that  time 
on  would  have  become  my  owi  sin  and  my  own  chosen 
sinful  nature.  I  could  no  longer  have  justly  blamed 


196  HOW  GOD  OVERCOMES 

Adam  for  my  sins,  nor  for  my  sinful  nature.  By  definite 
rejection  of  the  deliverance  whereby  I  had  been  delivered, 
I  would  thereby  have  definitely  chosen  that  sin  and  that 
sinful  nature  as  my  own  chosen  sin,  and  my  own  chosen 
sinful  nature ;  and  I  could  no  longer  have  blamed  Adam 
or  God  for  my  sinful  nature,  or  for  the  sins  committed 
by  that  sinful  nature.  If  I  stood  in  that  man's  position 
today  it  would  be  my  own  fault,  and  I  could  blame  no 
one  but  myself. 

"And  more  than  this,  if  I  had  rejected  salvation  from 
the  Adam  nature  and  from  the  sins  of  that  nature,  not 
only  would  I  have  endorsed  and  made  my  own  the  sins 
which  I  committed  after  that  rejection,  but  in  choosing 
sin  in  the  place  of  salvation  I  would  have  endorsed  those 
sins  which  the  Adam  nature  had  committed  in  me  before 
that  rejection,  and  thereby  re-enacted  them  in  mind  and 
heart,  and  incurred  their  guilt,  this  time  as  my  own 
chosen  wilful  sins.  Those  sins  which  were  committed 
in  my  ignorance  and  weakness  as  a  slave  of  the  Adam 
nature,  sins  which  were  fully  and  freely  borne  by  the 
Lamb  of  God,  I  would  thereby  have  re-enacted  in  heart 
as  my  own,  wilful  sins.  I  could  not  have  blamed  Adam 
for  the  sins  committed  after  I  had  rejected  salvation; 
neither  could  I  have  claimed  that  I  was  punished  for  the 
sins  of  weakness  and  ignorance  committed  before  that 
rejection.  By  my  rejection  of  salvation  from  those  past 
sins  I  would  have  justified  and  endorsed  those  sins  and 
thereby  in  heart  and  mind  re-enacted  those  sins  as  my 
own  wilful  sins. 

"And  now  I  appeal  to  the  assembled  universe;  I  ap- 
peal to  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  the  unf alien  worlds;  I 
appeal  to  the  redeemed  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people  and  nation;  I  appeal  to  the  ruined  world; 
to  the  rejecters  of  so  great  salvation;  to  those  who  have 
trampled  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  counted  the 


WHEN  HE  IS  JUDGED  197 

blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  they  were  sanctified  as 
an  unholy  thing,  and  who  have  done  despite  to  the  Spirit 
of  grace;  I  appeal  to  all,  fallen  and  unf alien,  ruined  and 
redeemed,  loyal  and  lost,  principalities  and  powers,  sons 
of  God,  seraphim  and  cherubim; — I  appeal  to  all  the 
universe  to  justify  the  government  of  God  from  every 
vestige  of  blame  for  the  ruin  of  the  lost.  And  I  call 
upon  'every  creature  which  is  in  heaven  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea, 
and  all  that  are  in  them/  to  ascribe  blessing,  and  honor, 
and  glory,  and  power,  'unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever/  "  Rev. 
5:13. 

Indescribably  grand  is  the  scene  which  follows.  For 
six  thousand  years  the  Father  and  Son  have  lived  under 
the  charge  of  injustice  in  their  relation  to  the  fallen 
world.  But  with  divine  forbearance  and  infinite  love 
they  have  waited  the  hour  when  truth  and  righteousness 
should  triumph.  All  faces  are  turned  toward  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb,  while  the  as- 
sembled universe  unite  with  one  voice,  in  a  mighty 
"Amen/'  saying:  "Great  and  marvelous  are  thy  works, 
Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and  true  are  Thy  ways,  thou 
King  of  saints."  Rev.  15:3. 


XXXIV 

PROCLAIMING   LIBERTY   WITHOUT  A   PROCLAMATION 

"But  Thomas  .  .  .  was  not  with  them  when  Jesus 
came.  The  other  disciples  therefore  said  unto  him,  We 
have  seen  the  Lord.  But  he  said  unto  them,  Except  I 
shall  see  in  His  hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put 
my  fingers  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my 


198  PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY 

hand  into  His  side,  I  will  not  believe."   John  20:  24,  25. 

The  cold,  calculating  man  of  the  world  commends  the 
demand  of  Thomas  as  that  of  a  calm,  careful  investiga- 
tor. His  attitude  is  considered  ''rational"  as  compared 
with  that  of  the  man  or  woman  who  believes  in  Christ 
for  salvation  without  that  seeing  and  feeling  which  the 
world  considers  convincing  evidence.  But  hear  the  Mas- 
ter's patient  reproof  of  this  early  "rationalist." 

"Then  said  He  unto  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy  finger, 
and  behold  My  hands;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and 
thrust  it  into  My  side;  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believ- 
ing. And  Thomas  answered  and  said  unto  Him,  My 
Lord  and  my  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  Be- 
cause thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed ;  blessed  are 
they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  Vs. 
27-29. 

"But  I  cannot  understand  this,"  someone  will  say; 
"I  cannot  understand  why  the  Lord  promises  a  blessing 
on  people  who  believe  without  seeing.  Does  the  Lord 
want  men  and  women  to  close  their  eyes  to  facts  and 
believe  what  others  tell  them  in  so  important  a  matter 
as  the  resurrection  of  Christ?" 

What  was  the  difficulty  with  the  demand  of  Thomas  ? 
What  was  it  the  Lord  wanted  Thomas  to  believe  without 
seeing?  Did  He  want  him  to  believe  the  testimony  of 
the  other  disciples  without  any  other  evidence  that  Christ 
was  risen?  No  indeed.  Faith  is  not  credulity,  faith  is 
founded  on  evidence  as  stable  as  the  foundation  of  the 
universe. 

That  the  reader  may  see  the  defect  in  the  demand  of 
Thomas,  let  us  suppose  a  possible  scene  as  occurring 
after  this  experience  of  Thomas,  prior  to  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  Thomas  was  study- 
ing to  become  a  herald  of  liberty.  The  evidence  upon 
which  he  rests  his  faith  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ 


WITHOUT  A  PROCLAMATION  199 

must  be  evidence  which  he  can  use  to  convince  others  of 
the  same  truth.  Here  is  the  illustration. 

Thomas  has  gone  forth  to  proclaim  deliverance  to 
the  captives  of  sin  through  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ.  Standing  in  the  temple  with  a  large  audience 
before  him,  he  speaks  thus : 

"Men  and  brethren,  hearken  unto  me,  for  I  bring  you 
good  tidings.  I  bear  solemn  witness  unto  you  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  who  was  crucified  and  died  and  was  buried, 
is  risen  from  the  dead.  My  testimony  is  true.  I  myself 
saw  Him,  after  His  resurrection ;  yes,  more !  I  put  my 
fingers  in  the  print  of  the  nails  in  His  hands:  and  not 
satisfied  with  this,  I  thrust  my  hand  into  the  spear-scar 
in  His  side.  I  therefore  testify  to  a  risen  Saviour,  and 
call  upon  all  men  to  receive  my  testimony  and  believe  on 
Him  whom  God  has  raised  from  the  dead.  Be  it  known 
"unto  you,  therefore,  brethren,  that  through  this  man  is 
preached  forgiveness  of  sins.  Believe  it  and  be  free." 

A  voice  from  the  multitude  cries :  "Bring  Him  forth ! 
Let  us  see  Him ;  let  us  see  the  print  of  the  nails  in  His 
hands ;  let  us  thrust  our  hands  into  His  side.  Except  we 
shall  see  the  print  of  the  nails  in  His  hands;  except  we 
shall  put  our  fingers  into  the  print  of  the  nails  and  thrust 
our  hands  into  His  side,  we  will  not  believe." 

But  Thomas  in  dismay  replies:  "He  is  not  here.  He 
has  ascended  on  high  and  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father.  I  cannot  present  Him.  But  why  not  believe, 
oh,  ye  doubters !  Why  not  believe  my  testimony  ?  Have 
I  not  seen  Him?  Have  I  not  felt  the  prints  of  the  nails 
with  these  hands?  Have  not  these  very  hands  felt  the 
spear-scar  in  His  side?" 

But  the  only  response  to  this  earnest  appeal  is  the 
increasing  cry  of  the  multitude,  "Bring  Him  forth !  Let 
us  see  Him.  Let  us  feel  the  scars  of  the  crucified  man. 
You  demanded  to  see  the  risen  man  and  so  do  we.  You 


200  PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY 

rest  your  faith  on  your  seeing,  so  do  we.  You  refused 
to  believe  ere  you  could  feel  the  print  of  the  nails,  so  do 
we."  And  amid  the  angry  clamor  of  the  multitude; 
"Bring  Him  forth !  Show  us  the  ma'n !"  Thomas  hurries 
away,  ashamed  of  his  weakness,  discouraged,  defeated. 

Now  that  we  see  the  weakness  of  Thomas,  let  us 
search  for  that  which  will  make  him  strong.  What  was 
it  that  the  Lord  wanted  Thomas  to  believe  without  see- 
ing? Was  it  the  unsupported  testimony  of  the  other 
disciples  ? 

Two  other  doubting  disciples  are  on  their  way  to 
Emmaus  on  the  afternoon  of  the  resurrection  day.  "And 
it  came  to  pass,  that,  while  they  communed  together  and 
reasoned,  Jesus  Himself  drew  near,  and  went  with  them. 
But  their  eyes  were  holden  that  they  should  not  know 
Him"  (Luke  24: 15,  16).  Why  did  the  Lord  not  make 
Himself  known? — why  did  He  not  open  their  eyes  that- 
they  might  see  Him  ?  Because  He  wanted  them  to  believe 
what  Thomas  did  not  believe  before  they  saw  what 
Thomas  demanded  to  see.  And  what  is  that?  It  is  that 
which  Jesus  caused  them  to  see  before  their  eyes  were 
opened  to  see  Him.  And  this  it  is: 

"Then  said  He  unto  them,  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart 
to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken.  Ought  not 
Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into 
His  glory  ?  And  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets, 
He  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things 
concerning  Himself.  .  .  .  And  it  came  to  pass  as  He 
sat  at  meat  with  them,  He  took  bread,  and  blessed  it, 
and  break  and  gave  to  them.  And  their  eyes  were  opened, 
and  they  knew  Him ;  and  He  vanished  out  of  their  sight. 
And  they  said  one  to  another,  Did  not  our  heart  burn 
within  us,  while  He  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  while 
He  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures?"  Luke  24 :  25-27,  30-32. 

Reader,  do  you  see  it?    Do  you  see  what  the  Lord 


WITHOUT  A  PROCLAMATION  201 

wanted  Thomas  to  believe  before  Thomas  saw  Him,  and 
what  He  wanted  Thomas  and  the  other  disciples  to  feel 
before  they  felt  Him  ?  He  wanted  them  to  see  Him  risen 
in  the  Scriptures, — the  proclamation  in  parchment,  be- 
fore they  saw  Him  risen  in  the  flesh.  He  wanted  them 
to  feel  the  burning  words  "concerning  Himself"  "in  all 
the  Scriptures,"  before  their  hands  felt  the  scar-marked 
wounds  in  all  His  body.  And  it  was  these  nail-marked, 
spear-pierced  Scriptures  that  the  Lord  asked  Thomas  to 
see  before  he  saw  their  fulfilment  in  his  nail-marked 
hands  and  spear-scarred  side.  He  should  first  have  seen 
the  prints  of  the  nails  in  the  pages  of  the  proclamation; 
afterward  in  the  paints  of  the  Prince  of  peace. 

Yes,  Thomas  ought  to  have  believed  the  testimony  of 
the  other  disciples  when  they  said  to  him,  "We  have  seen 
the  Lord."  He  ought  to  have  been  expecting  to  hear 
these  glad  words.  He  ought  to  have  believed  the  prom- 
ise of  the  prophets,  the  proclamation  of  his  prophet- 
Lord.  His  faith  should  have  answered  the  resurrection 
message  of  his  brethren  with  the  cry,  "I  believe  it.  I 
knew  that  the  sun  of  this  third  day  could  never  set  until 
that  seal  was  broken  and  that  stone  rolled  from  the 
rocky  prison  of  my  Saviour  Prince,  and  death  had  de- 
livered back  the  Lord  of  life.  Did  not  the  prophets  prom- 
ise it?  Did  not  He  point  us  to  His  own  proclamation 
through  these  holy  prophets  and  declare  that  He  would 
fulfil  them  and  rise  again  the  third  day?  I  believe  He 
is  risen.  I  believe  your  testimony.  I  believe  you  have 
seen  Him;  I  believe  it  because  the  proclamation  of  the 
prophets  promises  it.  And  when  it  shall  please  Him,  I, 
too,  shall  see  the  beaming  face  of  my  blessed  Lord/' 
"Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen  and  yet  have  be- 
lieved." 

The  failure  to  see  and  feel  Christ  in  all  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  and  to  produce  this  proclamation, 


202  PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY 

was  the  weakness  of  Thomas  in  the  illustration  given. 
Thomas  was  weak  because  he  lacked  one  of  the  two  vital 
witnesses  in  the  case.  His  witness  was  powerless  with- 
out the  confirming  witness,  the  proclamation  of  the 
prophets.  There  are  many  today  whose  witness  is  weak 
for  the  same  reason.  They  tell  of  what  they  have  seen 
and  felt,  and  expect  the  world  to  believe  on  the  ground 
of  their  seeing  and  feeling.  But  the  world  replies,  ''We 
have  not  seen  what  you  have  seen,  nor  felt  what  you 
have  felt.  When  we  have  seen  what  you  have  seen,  and 
felt  what  you  have  felt,  we  may  believe  what  you  be- 
lieve." They  are  not  "mighty  in  the  Scriptures."  They 
do  not  confirm  their  testimony  with  the  witnessing  proc- 
lamation. 

Peter's  preaching  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  pow- 
erful and  productive  because  he  first  preached  Christ 
risen  in  the  promises  of  the  prophets,  and  then  bore  per- 
sonal witness  to  His  resurrection  in  fulfillment  of  their 
proclamation.  Hear  him  combining  these  two  witnesses 
in  the  burning  words  of  power  with  which  he  concludes 
his  testimony: 

"He  [the  prophet]  seeing  this  before,  spake  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  that  His  soul  was  not  left  in  hell, 
neither  His  flesh  did  see  corruption.  This  Jesus  hath 
God  raised  up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses."  Acts 
2:31,  32. 

The  Spirit  speaking  through  the  proclamation  of  the 
prophets,  and  the  Spirit  speaking  through  the  witnessing 
apostle,  are  the  two  witnesses  of  a  risen  Lord.  And  these 
two  are  one.  But,  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen 
the  scars  on  the  spike-pierced  hands  and  the  spear-pierced 
side,  and  yet  have  believed  the  nail-pierced  psalm ;  and  the 
Christ-filled  seer.  "Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen 
and  yet  believed."  The  apostle  of  liberty  is  powerless 
without  the  proclamation  of  liberty. 


WITH  A  PROCLAMATION  203 


XXXV 

PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY  WITH    A  PROCLAMATION 

"It  is  written  in  your  law  that  the  testimony  of  two 
men  is  true.  I  am  one  that  bear  witness  of  myself,  and 
the  Father  that  sent  me  beareth  witness  of  me"  (John 
8:  17).  Even  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  did  not  ask  the 
people  to  believe  His  message  without  a  confirming  wit- 
ness. 

"If  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  witness  is  not  true. 
There  is  another  that  beareth  witness  of  me ;  and  I  know 
that  the  witness  which  He  witnesseth  of  me  is  true" 
(John  5  :  31,  32) .  After  thus  declaring  to  the  people  that 
He  did  not  ask  them  to  believe  His  testimony  uncon- 
firmed, He  proceeds  to  introduce  the  two  witnesses  upon 
which  He  rested  His  Messiahship  and  the  two  witnesses 
which  He  asked  the  world  to  believe  for  salvation.  Here 
is  the  first  witness : 

"The  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me  to  ac- 
complish, the  very  works  that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me, 
that  the  Father  hath  sent  me."  Vs.  36. 

And  here  follows  the  second  witness: 

"And  the  Father  Himself  which  sent  me,  hath  borne 
witness  of  me.  Ye  have  neither  heard  His  voice  at  any 
time,  nor  seen  His  shape.  And  ye  have  not  His  word 
abiding  in  you:  for  whom  He  sent,  Him  ye  believe  not. 
Ye  search  the  scriptures  because  ye  think  that  in  them 
ye  have  eternal  life;  and  these  are  they  which  bear  wit- 
ness of  me."  Vs.  37,  39.  (R.  V.) 

Thus  it  is  made  plain  that  Christ  calls  upon  the  world 
to  receive  Him  on  the  combined  testimony  of  His  life, — 


204  PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY 

"The  life  was  the  light  of  men" — and  the  promise  of  that 
life  in  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets. 

The  prophets  witnessed  to  what  Christ  would  be  and 
do,  while  the  life  of  Christ  was  a  witness  that  He  was 
and  did  what  the  prophets  said  He  would  be  and  do. 
One  witness  is  Christ  in  manuscript,  the  other  is  Christ 
in  man.  One  is  the  promise  in  parchment,  the  other  the 
fulfillment  in  flesh.  A  vivid  picture  of  these  two  wit- 
nesses testifying  together  is  presented  in  the  following 
scriptures : 

"And  He  came  to  Nazareth,  where  He  had  been 
brought  up;  and  as  His  custom  was,  He  went  into  the 
synagogue  on  the  Sabbath  day  and  stood  up  for  to  read. 
And  there  was  delivered  unto  Him  the  book  of  the 
prophet  Esaias.  And  when  He  had  opened  the  book,  He 
found  the  place  where  it  was  written,  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor;  He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the 
broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and 
recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them 
that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord.  And  He  closed  the  book  and  gave  it  again  to  the 
minister  and  sat  down.  And  the  eyes  of  all  them  that 
were  in  the  synagogue  were  fastened  on  Him.  And  He 
began  to  say  unto  them,  This  day  is  this  scripture  ful- 
filled in  your  ears."  Luke  4:  16,  21. 

No  marvel  that  "the  people  wondered  at  the  gracious 
words  which  proceeded  out  of  His  mouth,"  for  they 
heard  the  two  witnesses  testifying  as  one.  They  heard 
"the  volume  of  the  book"  in  His  hand  and  the  voice  of 
the  book  in  His  heart.  Oh,  that  the  perfect  heavenly 
harmony  of  these  two  witnesses  might  be  heard  on  earth 
once  more! 

It  is  in  the  purpose  and  promise  of  God  that  these 
two  witnesses  shall  continue  their  testimony  even  to  the 


WITH  A  PROCLAMATION  205 

end  of  the  world.  But  one  is  powerless  without  the 
other.  As  these  two  witnesses  testified  in  the  mission  of 
the  Master,  so  must  they  testify  in  the  mission  of  His 
messengers.  The  voice  from  the  holy  manuscript  must 
be  heard  from  the  holy  man;  and  consequently  before 
the  departure  of  Him  who  came  into  the  world  to  "bear 
witness  unto  the  truth" — "Christ  Jesus  who  before  Pon- 
tius Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession" — before  this 
heaven-sent  Witness  returned  to  His  Father,  He  pro- 
vided for  the  witnessing  of  His  two  witnesses  even  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  Hear  Him  as  He  instructs  them: 

"These  are  the  words  which  I  spake  unto  you  while 
I  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  be  fulfilled,  which 
were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses  and  in  the  prophets, 
and  in  the  psalms,  concerning  me.  Then  opened  He  their 
understanding,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus 
it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead 
the  third  day :  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 
should  be  preached  in  His  name  among  all  nations  be- 
ginning at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these 
things"  (Luke  24:44-48).  "Ye  also  shall  bear  witness 
because  ye  have  been  with  me  from  the  beginning"  (John 
15:27).  "Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  both  in  Jeru- 
salem and  in  all  Judaea,  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  utter- 
most part  of  the  earth"  (Acts  1:8).  "Go  ye  therefore, 
and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you:  and,  lo!  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world."  Matt.  28: 19,  20. 

These  scriptures  plainly  show  that  the  two  witnesses, 
— the  writings  of  the  holy  prophets,  and  the  testimony  of 
the  holy  apostles,  were  to  continue  their  witnessing  unto 
the  end  of  the  world.  The  holy  prophets,  promising  a 


206  PROCLAIMING  LIBERTY 

sin-remitting  Redeemer,  were  to  witness  with  the  holy 
apostles,  testifying  to  the  fulfillment  of  these  promises  in 
the  risen  Lord.  It  was  the  Spirit's  voice  witnessing 
through  the  apostles,  which  produced  the  power  of  Pente- 
cost. 

Let  us  follow  these  two  witnesses  as  they  appear  in 
the  post- Pentecostal  period  of  purity  and  power.  If  we 
are  to  realize  a  return  of  apostolic  power,  we  must  rec- 
ognize the  forces  which  produced  that  power.  Notice 
the  presence  of  these  two  witnesses  in  the  following  re- 
corded discourses  of  the  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul: 

"Ye  denied  the  holy  one  and  the  just,  and  desired  a 
murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you;  and  killed  the  Prince 
of  life  whom  God  hath  raised  from  the  dead ;  whereof 
we  are  witnesses.  .  .  .  Yea,  and  all  the  prophets  from 
Samuel  and  those  that  follow  after,  as  many  as  have 
spoken,  have  likewise  foretold  these  days."  Acts  3 : 
14,  15,  24. 

"And  we  are  witnesses  of  all  things  which  He  did, 
both  in  the  land  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusalem;  whom 
they  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree ;  Him  God  raised  up  the 
third  day  and  showed  Him  openly ;  not  to  all  the  people, 
but  unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us  who 
did  eat  and  drink  with  Him  after  He  rose  from  the  dead. 
...  To  Him  give  all  the  prophets  witness,  that  through 
His  name,  whosoever  believeth  in  Him,  shall  receive  re- 
mission of  sins."  Acts  10 :  39-43. 

"For  they  that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  and  their  rulers, 
because  they  knew  Him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day,  they  have 
fulfilled  them  in  condemning  Him.  And  though  they 
found  no  cause  of  death  in  Him,  yet  desired  they  Pilate 
that  He  should  be  slain.  And  when  they  had  fulfilled  all 
that  was  written  of  Him,  they  took  Him  down  from  the 
tree  and  laid  Him  in  a  sepulchre.  But  God  raised  Him 


WITH  A  PROCLAMATION  207 

from  the  dead:  and  He  was  seen  many  days  of  them 
which  came  up  with  Him  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  who 
are  His  witnesses  unto  the  people."  Acts  13  :  23-31. 

"Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  continue 
unto  this  day,  zvitnessing  both  to  small  and  great,  saying 
none  other  things  than  those  which  the  prophets  and 
Moses  said  should  come:  that  Christ  should  suffer,  and 
that  He  should  be  the  first  that  should  rise  from  the  dead, 
and  should  show  light  unto  the  people  and  to  the  Gen- 
tiles." Acts  26:  22,  23. 

When  the  curtain  falls  on  the  last  scene  in  the  last 
cf  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  the  audience  is  in  the  city  of 
the  Caesars,  and  the  actors  are  the  two  witnesses,  Christ 
in  the  parchments  of  the  prophets,  and  Christ  in  the 
apostle,  the  "prisoner  of  the  Lord,"  as  recorded  in  the 
following  scripture: 

"And  when  they  had  appointed  him  a  day,  there  came 
many  to  him  into  his  lodging;  to  whom  he  expounded 
and  testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  persuading  them  con- 
cerning Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and  out  of 
the  prophets,  from  morning  till  evening."  Acts  28 : 23. 

In  all  the  powerful,  productive  preaching,  from  Peter 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  to  Paul  a  prisoner  at  Rome, 
these  two  witnesses — the  voice  from  the  holy  manuscript 
and  the  voice  from  the  holy  man;  the  proclamation  in 
the  volume  of  the  book,  and  the  proclamation  in  the  voice 
of  the  believer, — were  the  witnesses  used  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  making  that  period  the  period  of  greatest  power 
in  the  history  of  Gospel  preaching. 

To  all  who  are  earnestly  and  honestly  seeking  for 
Penetecostal  power,  the  results  of  this  research  are  pray- 
erfully presented.  Does  the  weakness  lie  in  the  absence 
of  the  witnessing  proclamation,  or  in  the  absence  of  the 
witnessing  preacher?  Does  it  lie  in  the  absence  of  the 
witnessing  manuscript  or  of  the  witnessing  man? 


208  FAITHLESS  FREEDMEN 

XXXVI 

FAITHLESS    FREEDMEN 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses  at  the  burning  bush, 
"Go,  and  gather  the  elders  of  Israel  together,  and  say 
unto  them,  The  Lord  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of 
Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  appeared  unto  me,  say- 
ing, I  have  surely  visited  you,  and  seen  that  which  is  done 
to  you  in  Egypt :  and  I  have  said,  I  will  bring  you  up  out 
of  the  affliction  of  Egypt  .  .  .  unto  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey.  And  they  shall  hearken  to  thy  voice." 
Ex.  3 :  16,  18. 

"Moses  answered  and  said,  But  behold,  they  will  not 
believe  me,  nor  hearken  unto  my  voice ;  for  they  will  say, 
The  Lord  hath  not  appeared  unto  thee."  Ex.  4:1. 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  What  is  that  in  thine 
hand?  And  he  said,  A  rod.  And  He  said,  Cast  it  on 
the  ground.  And  he  cast  it  on  the  ground,  and  it  be- 
came a  serpent ;  and  Moses  fled  from  before  it.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Put  forth  thine  hand,  and  take 
it  by  the  tail.  And  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  caught  it, 
and  it  became  a  rod  in  his  hand :  that  they  may  believe 
that  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham, 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob,  hath  appeared 
unto  thee.  And  the  Lord  said  furthermore  unto  him,  Put 
now  thine  hand  into  thy  bosom.  And  he  put  his  hand 
into  his  bosom:  and  when  he  took  it  out,  behold,  his 
hand  was  leprous  as  snow.  And  He  said,  Put  thine  hand 
into  thy  bosom  again.  And  he  put  his  hand  into  his 
bosom  again;  and  plucked  it  out  of  his  bosom,  and,  be- 
hold, it  was  turned  again  as  his  other  flesh.  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  if  they  will  not  believe  thee,  neither  hearken 


FAITHLESS  FREEDMEN  209 

to  the  voice  of  the  first  sign,  that  they  will  believe  the 
voice  of  the  latter  sign.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if 
they  will  not  believe  also  these  two  signs,  neither  hearken 
unto  thy  voice,  that  thou  shalt  take  of  the  water  of  the 
river,  and  pour  it  upon  the  dry  land ;  and  the  water  which 
thou  takest  out  of  the  river  shall  become  blood  upon  the 
dry  land."  Ex.  4:2-9. 

"And  Moses  and  Aaron  went  and  gathered  together 
all  the  elders  of  the  children  of  Israel."  But  they  did 
not  believe  what  Aaron  told  them.  This  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  Aaron  did  the  signs  which  they  were  com- 
manded to  perform  in  case  the  elders  did  not  believe. 
At  the  first  promise  of  deliverance,  these  solemn  elders 
shook  their  hoary  heads  in  hopeless  unbelief.  But  Aaron 
threw  the  rod  down  among  them,  and  the  living  serpent 
doubtless  caused  a  movement  among  the  elders,  not  un- 
like the  movement  which  Moses  made  when  he  saw  the 
serpent  at  the  first.  But  Aaron  took  the  serpent  by  the 
tail,  and  doubtless  handed  the  harmless  rod  for  inspec- 
tion to  the  cautiously  returning  elders;  and  they  won- 
dered if  there  was  not,  after  all,  something  in  what  Moses 
and  Aaron  had  told  them. 

But  yet  they  did  not  believe.  Then  the  second  sign 
was  performed.  At  the  sight  of  the  leprous  hand  there 
is  another  scene.  When  the  hand  was  healed,  no  doubt 
there  were  many  expressions  of  wonder  at  the  power 
manifested,  and  many  believed  the  message  of  Moses; 
but  some  doubted. 

Then  the  water  of  the  river  was  poured  out  at  their 
feet,  and  became  a  crimson  stream.  At  the  sight  of  the 
blood  they  believed,  for  it  is  written  that — "after  Aaron 
did  the  signs"  the  people  believed. 

But  their  belief  was  based  on  "seeing."  There  is  a 
believing  more  blessed  than  this.  "Thomas,  because  thou 
hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed:  blessed  are  they  that 


210  FAITHLESS  FREEDMEN 

have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  Believed  what? 
Believed  the  word  of  God,  of  course.  Had  not  God  said 
to  Abraham,  "Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed  shall  be 
a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and  shall  serve 
them;  and  they  shall  afflict  them  four  hundred  years; 
and  also  that  nation,  whom  they  shall  serve,  will  I  judge : 
and  afterward  shall  they  come  out  with  great  substance. 
.  .  .  But  in  the  fourth  generation  they  shall  come  hither 
again"  (Gen.  15:13-16).  If  the  elders  and  people  had 
believed  God's  word  to  Abraham,  they  would  have  be- 
lieved the  message  of  Moses,  and  would  have  moved  out 
by  faith  without  seeing  the  signs.  "We  walk  by  faith 
and  not  by  sight." 

But  now  that  they  have  seen  the  signs,  they  think 
themselves  men  of  faith,  but  they  are  not ;  they  are  men 
of  sight.  "Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not 
believe."  The  trouble  in  basing  our  believing  on  signs 
is  that  signs  change.  Now,  instead  of  signs  of  deliver- 
ance there  arise  signs  of  bondage.  Instead  of  hurrying 
out  of  Egypt  after  signs,  they  are  hustling  into  Egypt 
after  stubble;  and  instead  of  signs  of  more  freedom, 
there  are  signs  of  more  flogging.  Now,  the  signs  of  the 
serpent  and  the  blood  are  eclipsed  by  the  signs  of  the 
stubble  and  the  beating;  and  instead  of  rejoicing  in 
Moses  as  the  agent  of  their  deliverance,  they  reproach 
him  as  the  agent  of  their  destruction.  The  signs  have 
changed.  Better,  far  better  than  the  wriggling  rod  or 
the  whitening  hand,  is  this  word  of  God  to  Abraham, 
"In  the  fourth  generation  they  shall  come  hither  again." 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE  211 

XXXVII 
THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE 

There  are  blessings  even  in  bondage.  It  was  the 
bondage  of  Egypt  that  prepared  the  Children  of  Israel 
for  deliverance.  It  is  evident  that  but  for  the  bondage 
they  suffered,  they  would  have  preferred  to  remain  in 
Egypt.  It  is  clear  from  Ezek.  20 :  7-9  that  they  had,  to 
a  large  extent,  accepted  the  gods  of  the  Egyptians,  which 
would  go  to  prove  that  they  were  settling  down  to  be- 
come a  component  part  of  this  heathen  empire. 

As  a  preparation  for  their  deliverance  from  spiritual 
bondage,  God  suffered  them  to  experience  physical  bond- 
age. Consequently  it  is  written,  "He  turned  their  [the 
Egyptians]  heart  to  hate  His  people,  to  deal  subtilly 
with  His  servants."  This  does  not  say  that  He  made 
their  heart  hateful,  but  that  He  turned  their  hateful  heart 
to  hate  His  people.  And  all  the  bondage  which  fol- 
lowed was  permitted  because  God  loved  His  people,  and 
desired  only  their  good. 

The  Egyptians  feared  that  the  Israelites  would  be- 
come strong  and  turn  against  them  in  time  of  war,  "and 
so  get  them  up  out  of  the  land.  Therefore  they  did  set 
over  them  taskmasters  to  afflict  them  with  their  burdens. 
.  .  .  And  they  made  their  lives  bitter  with  hard  bond- 
age, in  mortar,  and  in  brick,  and  in  all  manner  of  ser- 
vice in  the  field:  all  their  service  wherein  they  made 
them  serve  was  with  rigor"  (Ex.  1:  10,  14).  It  will  be 
noticed  that  Pharaoh's  plan  to  keep  them  in  bondage  was 
Jehovah's  plan  to  set  them  free. 

"And  Pharaoh  charged  all  his  people,  saying,  Every 
son  that  is  born  ye  shall  cast  into  the  river."  Ex.  1 :  22. 


212  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE 

When  their  bondage  became  unbearable,  then  "they 
cried,  and  their  cry  came  up  unto  God  by  reason  of  their 
bondage.  And  God  heard  their  groaning."  Of  course 
He  heard  it,  and  it  pained  His  heart, '"for  in  all  their 
afflictions  He  was  afflicted."  There  was  just  as  much 
love  in  the  dealings  of  God  with  Israel  at  this  time  when 
He  had  turned  the  heart  of  the  Egyptians  to  hate  His 
people,  as  there  was  later  when,  with  shouts  of  victory, 
and  banners  flying,  they  marched  out  of  their  cruel  bond- 
age. God  loved  them  just  as  much  when  by  bondage  and 
beating  He  was  driving  them  to  groan  and  cry,  as  when 
He  delivered  them,  with  joy  and  singing,  on  the  day  of 
their  redemption.  Reader,  remember  this  truth.  It  will 
help  you  some  dark  day.  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He 
chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  He  receiveth." 

The  Lord  was  listening  for  Israel's  groans,  and  when 
He  heard  them  He  was  glad.  He  listened  for  them  to 
cry  to  Him  for  help.  And  when  they  cried  He  was 
glad,  and  hastened  to  halt  the  shepherd  whom  He  had 
already  prepared  for  such  a  time  as  this.  And  to  him 
He  said: 

"I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction  of  My  people  which 
are  in  Egypt,  and  have  heard  their  cry  by  reason  of  their 
taskmasters;  for  /  know  their  sorrows;  and  I  am  come 
down  to  deliver  them  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  to  bring  them  up  out  of  that  land  unto  a  good  land, 
and  a  large,  unto  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey." 
Ex.  3 :  7,  8. 

When  Moses  and  Aaron  with  signs  and  wonders  bore 
the  glad  tidings  to  the  groaning  bondmen,  the  bondmen 
were  glad.  "And  the  people  believed :  and  when  they 
heard  that  the  Lord  had  visited  the  Children  of  Israel, 
and  that  He  had  looked  upon  their  affliction,  then  they 
bowed  their  heads  and  worshiped."  But  their  bondage 
was  not  yet  over.  Their  bitterest  bondage  was  ahead  of 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE  213 

them.  God  had  succeeded  in  causing  them  to  groan  un- 
der their  burdens ;  He  had  called  forth  prayer  for  deliv- 
erance and  had  succeeded  in  causing  them  to  "right  about 
face,"  and  look  in  the  direction  of  the  promised  land. 
But  now  that  they  were  facing  forward,  more  afflictions 
must  follow.  Why?  To  help  to  hasten  them  out,  and 
to  help  to  keep  them  from  returning.  Many  a  slave  of 
sin  has  seen  his  darkest  hours  after  he  had  faced  toward 
freedom. 

The  Lord  has  to  be  careful  in  His  chastisements  lest 
we  be  driven  into  the  depths  of  despair.  He  would  like 
to  so  afflict  us  in  our  Egypt  of  sin,  that  we  will  forever 
remember  its  beatings,  its  bondage,  and  its  blackness,  so 
that  however  hard  the  way  to  the  promised  land  may  be 
we  will  never  harbor  the  thought  of  returning.  So  we 
will  cry  at  our  Red  Seas,  at  our  bitter  waters,  and  bread- 
less  wastes,  "It  were  better  for  us  to  die  in  the  wilder- 
ness than  to  return  to  the  world." 

With  all  their  bitter  bondage,  with  all  their  bleeding 
backs,  with  all  their  buried  baby  boys,  these  faithless 
freedmen  continually  talked  of  the  advantages  of  Egypt 
— of  the  land  of  burdens  and  of  blood.  They  said, 

"It  had  been  better  for  us  to  serve  the  Egyptians, 
than  that  we  should  die  in  the  wilderness"  (Ex.  14:  12)  ; 
"Would  to  God  we  had  died  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord  in 
the  land  of  Egypt,  when  we  sat  by  the  fleshpots,  and 
when  we  did  eat  bread  to  the  full"  (Ex.  16:3)  ;  "Let 
us  make  us  a  captain,  and  let  us  return  into  Egypt." 
Num.  14 : 4. 

With  all  their  bondage,  it  is  clear  they  were  not  bur- 
dened enough.  With  all  their  beatings,  they  were  not 
bruised  enough.  Though  greatly  blessed  with  bitter  bond- 
age, they  were  not  blessed  enough.  They  would  have 
been  more  blessed  with  these  blessings  if  they  could  have 


214  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE 

borne  them.  God  desired  to  prepare  men  to  stand  in 
the  breach  when  the  wilderness  tests  should  come  and 
the  praises  of  Egypt  should  be  sung  by  the  faithless 
freedmen.  With  all  their  groans,  and  with  all  their  bit- 
ter cries  for  deliverance  from  their  bloody  bondage, 
where  was  the  freedman  who,  remembering  these  bitter 
days,  stood  forth  at  the  wilderness  crisis  and  cried :  "Who 
is  the  man  who  would  turn  this  host  back  to  the  bur- 
dens of  Egypt?  Has  he  forgotten  the  tyrant  taskmas- 
ters? Has  he  forgotten  his  fainting,  stumbling  steps  as 
he  hastened  into  the  harvest  field  after  stubble  in  a  hope- 
less effort  to  accomplish  the  tyrant's  task?  Men  of 
Israel,  have  you  so  soon  forgotten  the  naked  backs, 
beaten  bloody  by  the  tyrant's  lash?  Mothers  of  Israel, 
have  you  forgotten  the  baby  girls  saved  from  their 
brothers'  fate,  only  to  feed  the  frightful  hells  of  a 
heathen  harem?  Have  you  forgotten  the  baby  boys  that 
were  torn  from  your  bosoms  and  fed  to  the  cruel  croco- 
dile gods  of  your  tyrant  masters? 

"Return  into  Egypt?  Never!  A  thousand  times,  No! 
Better,  a  thousand  times  better,  perish  in  this  wilderness 
than  be  enslaved  to  the  uncircumcised,  and  see  our  chil- 
dren driven  to  the  harem  hell  and  the  dragon  of  the 
Nile.  For  shame,  men  of  Israel!  On  to  the  promised 
land!  It  is  treason  against  Jehovah,  the  God  of  our 
fathers,  to  talk  of  returning  to  the  heathen  tyrant.  Turn 
your  backs  forever  upon  the  land  of  the  tyrant  and  your 
face  to  the  pillar  of  fire."  "O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord 
for  He  is  good:  for  His  mercy  endureth  forever.  Let 
the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  say  so,  whom  He  hath  re- 
deemed from  the  hand  of  the  enemy." 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  can  bless  God  for  the  bondage 
that  he  was  made  to  feel  when  in  the  land  of  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  It  was  bondage  of  this  kind, 
experienced  by  Wycliffe,  by  Luther,  by  Baxter,  and  by 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE  215 

Bunyan,  that  led  them  ever  to  bless  the  day  of  their  de- 
liverance and  scorn  the  temptation  to  return  to  the  bitter 
bondage  of  a  condemning  conscience. 

Though  not  counted  in  the  class  of  overcoming  saints 
just  named,  the  writer  desires  to  bear  witness  to  the 
blessings  of  bondage.  I  bless  God  for  the  revelation  of 
his  blessed  will  concerning  the  bitterness  and  bondage 
of  the  awakened  conscience  of  a  soul  in  sin,  and  per- 
sonally, for  every  dark  hour,  for  every  bitter  cry  of  a 
condemning  conscience. 

And  now  let  the  reader  and  the  writer  unite  with  one 
of  deep  experience  in  the  blessings  of  bondage,  in  prais- 
ing our  great  Deliverer  for  both  our  fetters  and  our 
freedom. 

"O  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  His  good- 
ness, and  for  His  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of 
men !  For  He  satisfieth  the  longing  soul,  and  filleth  the 
hungry  soul  with  goodness.  Such  as  sit  in  darkness  and 
in  the  shadow  of  death,  being  bound  in  affliction  and 
iron ;  because  they  rebelled  against  the  words  of  God,  and 
contemned  the  counsel  of  the  Most  High:  therefore  He 
brought  down  their  heart  with  labor ;  they  fell  down,  and 
there  was  none  to  help.  Then  they  cried  unto  the  Lord 
in  their  trouble,  and  He  saved  them  out  of  their  dis- 
tresses. He  brought  them  out  of  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death,  and  brake  their  bands  in  sunder. 

"O  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  His  good- 
ness, and  for  His  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of 
men!  For  He  hath  broken  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut 
the  bars  of  iron  in  sunder.  Fools  because  of  their  trans- 
gression, and  because  of  their  iniquities,  are  afflicted. 
Their  soul  abhorreth  all  manner  of  meat ;  and  they  draw 
near  unto  the  gates  of  death.  Then  they  cry  unto  the 
Lord  in  their  trouble  and  He  saveth  them  out  of  their 


216  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BONDAGE 

distresses.    He  sent  His  word,  and  healed  them,  and  de- 
livered them  from  their  destructions. 

"O  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness, 
and  for  His  wonderful  works  to  'the  children  of  men ! 
And  let  them  sacrifice  the  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving,  and 
declare  His  works  with  rejoicing."  Ps.  107:8-22. 


XXXVIII 
FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

But  they  do  not  believe  these  ten  words.  They  want 
more  signs.  More  signs  shall  they  see.  Then  the  Al- 
mighty God  of  Abraham, — the  Jehovah  of  Moses,  lays 
bare  His  glorious  arm  and  strikes  ten  terrible  blows  at 
the  gods  of  Egypt  and  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs ;  and 
there  were  plagues  of  murrain,  of  hail,  and  of  blood. 
There  were  plagues  of  lice,  and  plagues  of  locusts,  and 
plagues  of  lightning.  There  were  plagues  of  frogs, 
plagues  of  flies,  plagues  of  famine.  There  were  heavens 
of  blackness  and  rivers  of  blood.  There  were  plagues 
in  the  herd  and  plagues  in  the  home.  There  was  death 
in  the  hovel  and  death  at  the  throne.  Israel  saw  signs  in 
the  heavens  and  signs  in  the  earth;  signs  in  the  waters 
and  signs  in  the  winds;  signs  in  the  darkness  and  signs 
in  the  dust;  signs  in  the  living  and  signs  in  the  dead. 
They  saw  the  haughty  Pharaoh  humbled,  the  tyrant  task- 
master tamed.  The  Hebrew  slaves  have  plenty,  the  mas- 
ters of  Egypt  are  poor. 

They  saw  all  this  and  thought  they  believed;  and 
with  banners  flying  and  with  freedom's  shout,  they 
turned  their  backs  on  the  brick  kilns  of  Egypt,  and  faced 
toward  the  Ganaan  of  their  father.  They  think  they 
believe,  but  there  is  no  evidence  of  faith  as  yet.  They 
have  seen  signs,  and  are  walking  in  the  light  of  those 


FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN  217 

signs.  "We  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight."  "Without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him."  Faith  is  the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen.  When  the  ten  signs  of  free- 
dom are  out  of  sight,  and  the  signs  of  bondage  again 
appear,  will  they  then  fall  back  on  the  words  of  God's 
unfailing  promise?  "But  in  the  fourth  generation  they 
shall  come  hither  again." 

Reader,  let  us  join  this  company  in  their  march  to 
the  promised  rest.  Let  us  meet  their  trials  with  them. 
The  results  of  this  march  "are  written  for  our  admoni- 
tion on  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come."  Though 
we  are  not  literally  marching  from  literal  Egypt,  we  are 
literally  passing  through  an  experience  which  will  result 
in  our  learning  the  lessons  of  faith  which  they  failed  to 
learn,  or  falling  as  they  fell,  in  the  wilderness  of  unbe- 
lief. "Let  us  labor,  therefore,  to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest 
any  man  fall  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief."  Heb. 
4:11. 

As  this  great  host  of  sightseers  are  moving  eastward 
in  the  direction  of  the  promised  land,  led  by  the  pillar  of 
cloud,  presently  their  glorious  guide,  instead  of  passing 
the  northern  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  turns  southward  and 
moves  down  the  west  side  of  the  sea,  thus  placing  the 
sea  between  them  and  their  promised  home.  Soon  the 
mountains  on  the  right,  and  the  sea  on  the  left  will  shut 
them  in.  This  is  a  sign  to  the  sightseers  that  somebody 
has  blundered.  Does  not  God  know  that  this  is  not  the 
path  to  the  promised  land?  Does  He  not  know  that 
there  is  no  bridge  across  the  Red  Sea?  Does  He  not 
know  that  there  is  no  pass  through  the  mountains  ?  Does 
He  not  know  that  He  is  leading  the  host  into  a  veritable 
trap?  Yes,  He  knows  all  this.  But  still  He  moves  ma- 
jestically along.  Yet  there  are  more  signs  to  see. 

There   are   strange   sounds   both   felt   and   heard, — 


218  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

sounds  not  unlike  the  first  faint  rumblings  of  the  earth- 
quake; and  looking  back  they  see  Pharaoh's  maddened 
host.  It  is  the  wild  gallop  of  the  cavalry  of  Egypt;  it 
is  the  roar  of  Pharaoh's  chariots  of  iron,  thundering 
down  to  avenge  the  blight  of  his  fields  and  flocks,  the 
blast  of  Egypt's  fame,  and  the  blood  of  its  first-born. 
The  signs  have  changed.  And  now  there  wells  up  from 
this  great  host  of  sightseers,  a  maddened  murmur  against 
Moses,  which,  when  written  by  the  recording  angel,  reads 
thus:  "Because  there  were  not  graves  enough  in  Egypt, 
hast  thou  taken  us  away  to  die  in  the  wilderness?"  Ex. 
14:11. 

But  why  did  the  Lord  lead  to  this  place  with  the 
impassable  mountains  on  the  right,  and  the  impassable 
sea  on  the  left,  and  the  implacable  Pharaoh  behind?  Be- 
cause He  wanted  them  there.  Because  He  wanted  them 
to  believe  Him  when  the  signs  were  against  them;  He 
wanted  them  to  graduate  from  the  kindergarten  of  sight 
into  the  first  reader  of  faith.  He  wanted  them  to  say, 
"We  have  never  seen  our  Deliverer  drive  a  tunnel 
through  a  mountain  and  make  an  escape  for  a  multitude 
like  this;  but  He  can  do  it  if  He  will,  and  He  will  if  it 
be  well;  let  us  wait  in  faith.  We  have  never  seen  the 
God  of  Abraham  plough  a  path  through  the  sea  and  per- 
mit His  people  to  pass  over  on  dry  land,  but  He  can  do 
it  if  He  will.  Remember  His  wonders  in  Egypt  and  His 
word  to  Abraham ;  stand  still  O  Israel,  believe  His  prom- 
ise and  ye  shall  see  His  salvation."  But  instead  of  the 
shout  of  faith  there  was  the  murmur  of  unbelief. 

Reader,  what  would  you  and  I  have  done  if  we  had 
been  there?  We  can  tell  something  of  what  we  would 
have  done  then  by  what  we  are  doing  now.  We  are 
warned  against  falling  "by  the  same  example  of  unbe- 
lief." It  must  be  therefore  that  we  are  being  tested  by 
trials  and  are  having  an  opportunity  to  trust  God  in  the 


220  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

presence  of  impassable  seas  of  difficulty.  May  we  take 
warning  by  this  record  of  Israel's  fall  which  was  written 
for  our  admonition  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are 
come. 

Israel  failed  to  learn  the  lessons.  They  failed  to  be- 
lieve God  without  seeing.  They  "provoked  Him  at  the 
sea,  even  at  the  Red  Sea."  But,  though  provoked,  He 
is  patient,  and  the  cloud  moves  back  to  meet  the  charg- 
ing chariots.  The  heavens  grow  black  and  the  host  is 
halted.  All  night  there  is  the  blackness  of  darkness  be- 
fore the  host  of  Pharaoh,  and  the  brightness  of  day  be- 
hind the  host  of  Israel.  The  sinful  sightseers  behold 
this  new  sign  of  salvation,  and  begin  again  to  believe. 
But  it  is  the  belief  that  is  based  on  sight,  not  the  faith 
founded  on  the  Word. 

Moses  stretched  his  rod  over  the  sea,  and  all  night 
long  while  Pharaoh  waited  to  destroy,  Jehovah  worked 
with  wind  and  wave  to  redeem. 

While  the  deep  sea  moaned  destruction, 
And  its  dark  waves  groaned  despair, 

His  wild  winds  walled  its  waters, 
His  frost  winds  froze  them  there. 

"And  the  children  of  Israel  went  into  the  midst  of 
the  sea  upon  dry  ground;  and  the  waters  were  a  wall 
unto  them  on  their  right  hand,  and  on  their  left"  (Ex. 
14:  22).  When  the  last  man  was  safe  on  the  other  side; 
when  the  waves  had  washed  Pharaoh's  mighty  host  in 
a  mangled  mass  on  the  rocks  at  their  feet,  then  the  men 
of  Israel  believed,  and  the  recording  angel  wrote  as  the 
monotonous  diary  of  the  day,  "And  Israel  saw  that  great 
work  which  the  Lord  did  upon  the  Egyptians:  and  the 
people  .  .  .  believed  the  Lord."  They  saw  and  be- 
lieved. "Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen  and  yet  have 
believed." 


FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN  221 

They  saw  the  tyrant  lifeless  beside  the  silent  sea, 
then  they  sang  the  song  of  Moses,  the  song  of  victory. 

They  saw  and  then  sang.  They  sang  the  song  of 
Moses,  but  was  it  their  song?  Moses  had  believed  before 
the  sea  was  furrowed,  and  while  the  tyrant  lived.  He 
had  a  right  to  sing  the  song  of  victory  now  that  the  host 
was  delivered  and  the  tyrant  dead.  God  saw  the  sing- 
ing, dancing  multitude,  and  knew  they  were  not  men  of 
faith.  But  He  will  give  them  another  chance  to  walk  by 
faith  when  they  cannot  see  their  way  clear. 

When  the  song  was  sung  and  the  dancing  done,  the 
cloud  rose  and  moved  on  to  the  waters  of  Marah.  The 
people  were  thirsty,  but  the  waters  were  bitter.  The 
Lord  knew  the  waters  were  bitter,  and  He  knew  that 
the  people  were  thirsty.  He  wanted  the  waters  bitter, 
and  He  wanted  the  people  thirsty.  He  wanted  to  teach 
them  to  trust  His  saving  power  before  they  saw  His 
saving  power.  Now  is  the  time  to  sing  the  song  of 
Moses,  now  is  the  time  to  dance.  One  shout  now  is 
worth  a  multitude  a  few  minutes  later.  God  was  hungry 
to  hear  someone  express  confidence  in  His  love  and  care. 
He  wanted  to  hear  that  mother  whose  child  is  crying  for 
water,  say  to  the  little  one,  "Be  patient  a  little  longer; 
I  know  you  are  thirsty,  mother  is  thirsty,  too.  God  knows 
how  thirsty  we  are ;  He  knows  the  waters  are  bitter.  He 
brought  us  here  to  give  us  a  chance  to  trust  Him.  We 
failed  at  the  Red  Sea ;  we  murmured  where  we  ought  to 
have  trusted.  Let  us  sing  of  His  goodness,  and  talk  of 
His  power.  Be  patient,  child,  and  presently  we  shall 
have  plenty  of  water.  Stand  still  and  see  His  glory." 

But  instead  of  the  song  of  faith,  there  is  the  old  mur- 
mur of  unbelief.  Again  they  provoked  Him,  but  still  He 
was  patient.  Only  three  days  from  the  dancing!  The 
waters  are  sweetened,  the  thirst  is  quenched;  another 
sign  has  been  seen.  The  people  now  think  they  believe. 


222  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

Only  another  failure  in  their  fast-filling  record  of  un- 
belief. He  will  try  them  again. 

The  cloud  moves  on  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin.  There 
is  no  bread  in  this  wilderness.  God  knows  it.  They  are 
getting  hungry,  but  God  knows  that.  He  wants  them  in 
the  wilderness  without  bread.  He  wants  them  hungry. 
He  wants  to  hear  these  hungry  men,  when  there  is  no 
bread  in  sight,  talk  of  the  promise  to  Abraham,  and  of 
His  wonders  in  Egypt,  and  His  terrible  works  at  the 
Red  Sea.  He  wants  to  hear  them  say,  "Stand  still,  O 
Israel,  and  see  the  salvation  of  your  God.  There  is  no 
bread  in  sight,  it  is  true,  neither  was  there  any  deliver- 
ance in  Egypt,  but  our  God  delivered  us;  neither  was 
there  any  way  through  the  sea,  but  He  made  a  path  and 
saved  us.  The  waters  were  bitter  at  Marah,  but  He 
sweetened  the  fountain.  We  have  never  seen  Him  spread 
a  table  in  the  wilderness,  but  He  is  able,  and  willing. 
Wait  for  Him.  We  have  failed  thus  far;  let  us  have 
faith  now." 

But  instead  of  faith,  He  hears  this  terrible,  wicked 
wish:  "Would  to  God  we  had  died  by  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  in  the  land  of  Egypt  when  we  sat  by  the  flesh-pots, 
and  when  we  did  eat  bread  to  the  full,  for  ye  have 
brought  us  forth  into  this  wilderness  to  kill  this  whole 
assembly  with  hunger." 

God  rained  bread  from  heaven,  they  ate  and  believed. 
But  they  failed, — utterly  failed  again.  They  are  in  dan- 
ger of  committing  the  unpardonable  sin.  If  they  con- 
tinue this  course  of  sinning  and  repenting,  of  murmuring 
under  trial,  and  repenting  after  the  trial  is  taken  away, 
they  will  come  to  the  place  where  no  new  trial  will  help 
them,  when  they  will  be  hopelessly  lost.  Not  because 
God  has  lost  interest  in  them,  but  because  His  efforts  to 
save  them  only  harden  their  hearts,  only  make  them 
more  daring  and  reckless  in  their  murmurings. 


FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN  223 

Again  the  cloud  moves  on  and  the  murmurers  follow. 
"And  all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel  jour- 
neyed from  the  wilderness  of  Sin  after  their  journeys 
according  to  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  and  pitched 
ir  Rephidim,  and  there  was  no  water  for  the  people  to 
drink."  The  Lord  who  led  them  there,  knew  there  was 
no  water.  That  was  the  reason  He  led  them  there.  He 
wanted  them  to  believe  He  loved  them  so  much  that  He 
would  not  lead  them  where  there  was  no  water,  unless 
He  intended  to  furnish  them  water.  Here  is  a  grand 
opportunity  to  sing  the  song  of  Moses  on  the  waiting 
side  of  the. water.  And  if  they  will  but  do  it,  there  will 
be  joy  above  the  cloud,  and  joy  within  the  cloud,  and  joy 
beneath  the  cloud,  and  streams  of  water  in  the  desert, 
and  the  cloud  will  lead  quickly  from  the  wilderness  of 
wandering  to  the  land  of  rest. 

Reader,  what  would  you  have  done?  You  can  tell 
what  you  would  have  done  by  what  you  are  doing  now. 
If  you  are  murmuring  now,  you  would  have  murmured 
then.  If  you  are  trusting  Him  in  trials  here,  you  would 
have  trusted  Him  in  trials  there. 

Turning  to  look  at  the  host  in  the  desert,  we  see 
them  abusing  Moses  thus:  "Wherefore  is  this  that  thou 
hast  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  kill  us  and  our  chil- 
dren and  our  cattle  with  thirst."  In  the  midst  of  this 
murmuring  multitude,  Moses  looked  up  to  heaven  and 
cried  unto  the  Lord,  saying,  "What  shall  I  do  unto  the 
people;  they  be  almost  ready  to  stone  me."  At  every 
failure  to  have  faith  from  the  first,  their  hearts  have 
grown  harder.  They  are  throwing  the  stones  of  their 
hearts  at  Moses  now,  and  soon  they  will  be  throwing  the 
stones  of  their  hands  unless  their  stony  hearts  are 
changed. 

But  why  throw  stones  at  Moses  ?  Moses  had  not  led 
them  to  this  desert.  He  had  only  followed  the  cloud. 


224  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

Their  terrible  charges  of  murder  were  not  against  Moses, 
but  against  the  Lord  who  had  led  them  in  the  cloud. 
"Your  murmurings  are  not  against  us,  but  against  the 
Lord,"  said  the  patient  Moses  at  the  previous  trial.  It 
would  have  pleased  God  just  as  well,  and  probably  better, 
if  they  had  threatened  to  throw  stones  straight  at  the 
cloud  instead  of  threatening  to  throw  them  at  God 
through  Moses. 

Reader,  stop  throwing  stones  at  Moses.  Throw  them 
straight  at  the  cloud.  It  is  more  convenient  and  cour- 
ageous, and  they  will  be  just  as  well  received,  and  it  may 
be  the  awful  thought  of  stoning  that  patient,  tender, 
thorn-scarred  face,  will  soften  the  heart,  and  empty  the 
hand  of  the  stoning  one. 

I  want  to  bear  witness  here  to  the  saving  power  of 
this  terrible  truth.  I  used  to  stone  Moses.  I  used  to 
murmur  against  man;  I  used  to  blame  my  brethren  for 
my  failures.  I  came  to  see  that  I,  too,  was  murmuring 
against  Moses.  But  with  heart  and  hand  full  of  stones, 
I  came  one  day  face  to  face  with  the  Father  of  Moses, 
with  the  "Father  of  Spirits"  in  the  facts  of  this  chapter 
and  heard  Him  say  to  me  through  His  word,  "My  son, 
despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint 
when  thou  art  rebuked  of  Him.  For  whom  the  Lord 
loveth  He  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  He 
receiveth.  If  ye  endure  chastening,  God  dealeth  with  you 
as  with  sons,  for  what  son  is  he  whom  the  Father  chas- 
teneth not?"  (Heb.  12:5,  7.)  When  I  heard  this  the 
stones  melted  out  of  my  heart,  and  fell  from  my  hand. 
I  must  not  murmur  at  men;  I  cannot  murmur  at  God. 
I  must  murmur  no  more. 

Returning  to  the  thirsty,  threatening  camp  of  Israel, 
we  read:  "He  smote  the  rock  that  the  waters  gushed 
out."  Then  the  people  drank  and  were  glad.  Now  again 
they  think  they  have  faith,  but  they  are  farther  from 


FAULTFINDING  FREED  MEN  225 

faith  than  ever  before.  They  are  hurrying  on  to  hopeless 
unbelief. 

The  oft-provoked  but  ever  patient  God  of  Israel  now 
plans  the  most  magnificent  display  of  divine  power  and 
glory  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The  people  are  seeking 
after  signs.  They  shall  see  signs  until  they  are  satisfied. 
They  shall  be  surfeited  with  signs.  They  shall  see  until 
they  beg  to  see  no  more.  They  shall  hear  until  they  shall 
cry  for  the  sound  to  cease.  Moses  makes  known  the 
coming  glory,  and  the  people  are  gay  in  anticipation  of 
what  to  them  promises  to  be  a  grand  holiday  with  a  mag- 
nificent display  of  heaven's  fireworks.  The  day  arrives, 
and  the  people  with  excited  anticipation  press  hard 
against  the  ropes  which  bound  the  base  of  the  mountain 
from  the  curious  multitude.  At  the  first  display  of 
power,  the  people  are  pleased  and  press  the  harder  for 
a  nearer  view  of  the  glory.  Of  all  the  wonders  which 
the  sightseers  have  ever  witnessed  this  is  the  most  won- 
derful. Fearing  that  this  faithless,  foolish  people  will 
break  through  the  bounds  and  be  consumed  in  the  coming 
glory,  the  Lord  waits  with  His  wonders  while  Moses  goes 
down  to  warn  the  people  not  to  let  their  lust  for  won- 
ders lead  them  to  lose  their  lives. 

When  the  people  were  sure  they  had  seen  signs 
enough,  sure  that  they  should  never  need  to  see  any 
more  signs  as  long  as  they  lived;  when  they  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  much  preferred  to  believe 
without  signs,  the  Lord  clothed  His  glory  with  the  cloudy 
covering.  The  terrible  sights,  the  awful  sounds,  ceased. 

Then  came  uneventful  days, — just  ordinary  days, — 
nothing  exciting.  The  days  lengthened  into  twenty,  then 
thirty,  without  signs.  Almost  forty  and  nothing  to  see! 
The  glory  gone,  the  trumpet  stilled,  the  thunder  ceased, 
the  earthquake  quiet,  Jehovah  silent,  Moses  out  of  sight, 
nothing  to  see;  only  the  common  cloud.  "Be  still,  and 


226  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

know  that  I  am  God."  But  they  would  not  be  still  and 
believe.  "Up,  make  us  gods  which  shall  go  before  us ; 
for  as  for  this  Moses,  the  man  which  brought  us  up  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  we  wot  not  wKat  has  become  of 
him."  Make  us  gods  we  can  see.  And  they  made  them 
a  molten  calf  and  sang,  not  the  song  of  Moses,  but  the 
madman's  melody  of  the  molten  calf.  "These  be  thy 
gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt." 

Then  appeared  the  sign  of  signs.  The  long-suffering 
Saviour  lengthened  His  love  and  pardoned  this  almost  un- 
pardonable sin  of  His  stiff-necked  people!  "His  mercy 
endureth  forever." 

Reader,  I  doubt  not  you  are  tired  of  this  record  of 
repeated  unbelief.  I  hope  you  are  so  tired  you  will  stop 
ir  in  your  own  life.  For  this  purpose  was  it  written  in 
the  divine  record  and  for  this  purpose  is  it  presented 
here.  "Let  us  therefore  labor  to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest 
any  man  fall  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief." 

God  will  make  another  mighty  effort  to  save  them 
from  their  unbelief.  He  will  let  them  see  once  more. 
He  has  shown  them  His  power  in  Egypt,  His  glory  at 
Sinai,  and  now  He  will  show  them  the  plenty  of  the 
promised  land.  They  are  camped  at  Kadesh  Barnea  on 
the  borders  of  the  land  of  promise.  The  spies  have  re- 
turned, and  all  Israel  are  gathered  to  see  the  signs  of  its 
plenty,  and  to  hear  of  the  prospects  of  an  easy  possession. 
When  they  saw  the  goodly  grapes,  the  pomegranates, 
and  the  figs,  they  thought  they  had  faith ;  but  when  they 
heard  of  the  walled  cities  and  the  giants, — of  the  Hivites 
and  Jebusites,  the  Amorites,  and  Canaanites;  when  the 
unbelieving  spies  began  lying  about  the  land,  they  lost 
their  courage  and  began  to  cry.  "And  all  the  congrega- 
tion lifted  up  their  voice  and  cried,  and  the  people  wept 


FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN  227 

that  night"  (Num.  14: 1).  When  the  morning  came,  the 
climax  of  their  cruel  unbelief  came. 

"And  all  the  children  of  Israel  murmured  against 
Moses  and  against  Aaron:  and  the  whole  congregation 
said  unto  them,  Would  God  that  we  had  died  in  the  land 
of  Egypt !  or  would  God  we  had  died  in  this  wilderness ! 
And  wherefore  hath  the  Lord  brought  us  into  this  land, 
to  fall  by  the  sword,  that  our  wives  and  our  children 
should  be  a  prey?  were  it  not  better  for  us  to  return 
into  Egypt?  And  they  said  one  to  another,  Let  us  make 
a  captain,  and  let  us  return  into  Egypt."  Num.  14 :  2-4. 

They  had  talked  before  of  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt, 
and  wished  they  were  back  in  Egypt;  they  had  even 
wished  that  they  had  died  there,  or  that  God  had  killed 
them  in  the  wilderness,  but  they  had  never  before  deliber- 
ately decided  to  return  into  Egypt.  Back  to  the  bond- 
age !  Back  to  the  brick  kilns !  Back  to  the  beating !  Back 
to  the  butchers  of  their  baby  boys!  Moses  falls  on  his 
face  in  agony.  Caleb  and  Joshua  plant  themselves  in 
front  of  the  murmuring,  maddened  mob,  and  make  a 
final  effort  to  stem  a  fatal  stampede  back  into  Egypt. 
Hear  their  glorious  testimony  of  trust !  Hear  their  cour- 
ageous cry  of  unfailing  faith ! 

"And  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  and  Caleb  the  son  of 
Jephunneh,  which  were  of  them  that  searched  the  land, 
rent  their  clothes:  and  they  spake  unto  all  the  company 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  The  land,  which  we 
passed  through  to  search  it,  is  an  exceeding  good  land. 
If  the  Lord  delight  in  us,  then  He  will  bring  us  into  this 
land,  and  give  it  us ;  a  land  which  floweth  with  milk  and 
honey.  Only  rebel  not  ye  against  the  Lord,  neither  fear 
ye  the  people  of  the  land;  for  they  are  bread  for  us: 
their  defence  is  departed  from  them,  and  the  Lord  is 
with  us :  fear  them  not."  Vs.  6-9. 

But  the  shout  of  faith  is  to  be  answered  with  a  shower 


228  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

of  stones.  The  stones  of  their  hearts  are  now  in  their 
hands ;  and  the  murmur  of  the  heart  is  now  the  murder 
of  the  hand.  The  maddened  mob  cry,  "Stone  them." 
"All  the  congregation  bade  stone  them  with  stones.  And 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  in  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation  before  all  the  children  of  Israel"  (Vs. 
10,  11).  The  trial  is  ended.  The  final,  fatal  provocation 
has  appeared.  They  are  weighed  in  the  balance  and 
found  wanting. 

They  have  committed  the  unpardonable  sin.  Out  of 
the  glory,  God  speaks  to  Moses  these  few  but  fearful 
words : 

"How  long  will  this  people  provoke  me,  and  how  long 
will  it  be  ere  they  believe  me  for  all  the  signs  which  I 
have  showed  among  them.  I  will  smite  them  with  the 
pestilence,  and  disinherit  them,  and  will  make  of  thee  a 
greater  nation  and  mightier  than  they." 

And  what  God  here  said  He  would  do  in  their  de- 
struction He  did  perform  to  the  letter.  It  is  true  that 
Moses,  not  knowing  that  they  were  beyond  hope,  and 
thinking  another  trial  might  save  them,  pleaded  with  God 
to  spare  them;  and  for  his  sake  God  forgave  them,  but 
told  Moses  to  say  unto  them,  "As  truly  as  I  live  saith 
the  Lord,  as  ye  have  spoken  in  my  ears,  so  will  I  do  to 
you." 

Aroused  by  the  awful  doom  to  which  their  maddened 
murmuring  has  driven  them,  they  repeat  again  their  su- 
perficial repentance  and  offer  to  go  up  against  their  ene- 
mies. But  it  is  now  too  late.  What  they  were  de- 
termined not  to  do  with  God,  they  are  now  determined 
to  do  without  Him.  They  will  go  up  alone.  "Then  the 
Amelekites  came  down,  and  the  Canaanites  which  dwelt 
in  that  hill,  and  smote  them,  and  discomfited  them,  even 
unto  Hormah"  (Num.  14:  45).  In  the  eyes  of  the  heathen 
the  Almighty  had  been  defeated  in  battle.  Baal,  the  god 


230  FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN 

of  the  Canaanites,  had  beaten  Jehovah  the  God  of  Jacob ! 
During  the  forty  years  that  followed,  had  you  listened 
at  the  campfires  of  the  Canaanites  when  the  warriors 
told  their  tales  of  battle  and  triumph,  you  would  doubt- 
less have  heard  how  Jehovah  the  God  of  Jacob  came 
with  His  host  to  the  wall  of  their  inheritance,  and  how, 
led  by  Baal,  they  had  given  battle,  beaten  Jehovah,  and 
driven  Him  with  His  host  back  to  the  wilderness. 

f 

After  this  disgraceful  defeat,  the  trumpet  of  retreat 
was  blown,  the  pillar  of  cloud  rose  from  the  tabernacle, 
paused  a  moment,  and  then  moved  back  into  the  wilder- 
ness. Jehovah  in  retreat !  Baal  with  blazing  bonfires  on 
every  high  place,  is  jubilant  because  Jehovah  has  been 
beaten  in  battle. 

The  cloud  moves  back  into  the  wilderness  where  the 
host  must,  wander  and  wait  until  the  faithless  have  fallen. 
Tis  only  a  funeral  train.  They  are  marching  to  their 
graves  in  the  desert.  The  faithless  fathers  must  fall  to 
make  way  for  the  testing  of  the  children. 


XXXIX 

THE   FAITHFUL  FREEDMEN 

After  forty  years  of  wicked  wandering  in  the  wilder- 
ness the  trumpet  of  warning  is  blown  again.  The  chil- 
dren of  the  fallen  fathers  watch  the  ascending  cloud  as 
it  rises  in  majesty  above  the  sacred  sanctuary,  and  then 
with  the  clarion  call  of  the  trumpet  move  back  toward  the 
promised  land. 

'Twas  a  glorious  day  in  the  wilderness,  when  the  trump  of  God 
was  blown, 

And  the  mighty  millions  of  Israel's  host  moved  on  to  their  prom- 
ised home. 


FAULTFINDING  FREEDMEN  231 

At  length  the  Jordan  is  reached.  But  it  is  harvest 
time  and  its  waters  have  overflowed  its  banks.  God  has 
chosen  the  swelling  of  Jordan  for  the  testing  of  His 
people.  The  command  to  go  over  is  given,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  the  faithless  fathers  fall  into  rank,  and  led  by 
the  priests  who  bear  the  ark,  move  in  the  majesty  of  faith 
to  the  challenging  waters.  What  results  for  weal  or  woe 
for  the  wandering  host,  are  to  be  revealed  in  this  momen- 
tous moment!  Will  we  hear  that  murderous  murmur  so 
often  heard  in  the  host  of  the  faithless  fathers?  Will 
the  children  cry  like  the  fathers,  "Were  there  not  graves 
enough  in  Egypt  where  we  could  be  buried,  without 
bringing  us  here  to  drown  us  in  the  Jordan?"  No  such 
cry  is  heard.  The  host  moves  on.  The  priests  are  near- 
ing  the  brink  of  the  swollen  river.  Jericho  is  waiting  in 
terror  the  test  at  the  Jordan.  The  angels  wait  beside  the 
waters.  Jehovah  waits.  The  priests  are  near  the  brink. 
Silence  reigns; — but  it  is  broken  by  the  tread  of  the 
priests  on  the  bosom  of  the  troubled  waters.  The  river 
has  parted ;  its  waters  are  walled.  The  path  is  dry.  Israel 
has  triumphed.  Jericho  trembles.  There  is  joy  in  heaven. 

'Twas  a  glorious  day  in  the  wilderness,  when  the  trump  of  God 
was  blown, 

And  the  mighty  millions  of  Israel's  host  moved  on  to  their  prom- 
ised home; 

When  Jehovah's  cloud  in  its  glory  grand  o'er  the  swelling  Jordan 
stood, 

While  the  men  of  faith  from  the  wilderness  moved  on  through 
its  parting  flood. 

'Twas  a  fearful  time  in  the  cities  proud,  with  their  ramparts 

high  and  broad, 
When   believing   millions    crossed   the    flood   through    faith    in 

Israel's  God. 
Then  the  giants  trembled  and  quaked  with  fear  in  their  gilded 

halls  of  shame, 
When  they  heard  that  Jacob  had  learned  to  trust  in  Jehovah's 

mighty  name. 


THE  FAITHFUL  FREEDMEN  233 

The  reproach  of  Egypt  is  rolled  away.  And  the  cloud 
that  had  retreated  into  the  wilderness  forty  years  before, 
now  followed  by  the  faithful  host,  hastens  to  redeem  the 
long-borne  defeat.  Jericho  is  chosen  to  show  the  power 
of  Jehovah  when  followed  by  a  faithful  host. 

"Ye  shall  compass  the  city,  all  ye  men  of  war,  and 
go  round  about  the  city  once.  Thus  shall  ye  do  six  days. 
And  seven  priests  shall  bear  before  the  ark  seven  trum- 
pets of  rams'  horns ;  and  the  seventh  day  ye  shall  compass 
the  city  seven  times,  and  the  priests  shall  blow  with  the 
trumpets.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  when  they  make 
a.  long  blast  with  the  rams'  horns  and  when  ye  hear  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet,  all  the  people  shall  shout  with  a 
great  shout;  and  the  walls  of  the  city  shall  fall  down 
flat,  and  the  people  shall  ascend  up  every  man  straight 
before  him."  Josh.  6:4,  5. 

But  will  there  not  be  time  enough  to  shout  after  the 
walls  come  down.  Yes,  but  it  will  be  the  shout  of  sight, 
of  unbelief.  It  will  be  the  shout  of  the  faithless,  fallen 
fathers.  "Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him." 
Shouting  before  the  walls  fall  pleases  God.  Doubting 
before  and  shouting  after  displeases  Him.  But  who  ever 
heard  of  the  walls  of  a  city  being  shouted  down!  No 
one.  No  one  need  to  hear  of  it  to  have  faith  in  it.  It 
was  the  unheard-of  things  which  God  used  to  test  the 
faith  of  the  fathers.  But  suppose  we  shout  and  the  walls 
do  not  come  down,  what  will  the  warriors  of  Jericho 
think  of  us  ?  These  were  questions  not  asked  by  the  chil- 
dren. These  were  the  questions  of  the  fathers  whose 
carcasses  fell  in  the  wilderness. 

The  marches  are  ended.  The  faithful  host  stand 
facing  the  frowning  walls.  The  blast  of  the  trumpet  is 
heard.  "And  it  came  to  pass  that  when  the  people  heard 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  the  people  shouted  with 
a  great  shout,  that  the  walls  fell  down  flat,  so  that  the 


234  THE  FAITHFUL  FREEDMEN 

people  went  up  into  the  city,  every  man  straight  before 
him,  and  they  took  the  city."  Josh.  6 : 3-5,  20. 

The  children  have  stood  where  the  fathers  fell.  Je- 
hovah has  conquered.  Jericho  has  cfumbled.  "We  walk 
by  faith,  not  by  sight."  "Without  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  please  Him."  "Now  all  these  things  happened  unto 
them  for  ensamples:  and  they  are  written  for  our  ad- 
monition unto  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come. 
Wherefore  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed 
lest  he  fall"  (1  Cor.  10:  11,  12).  "Let  us  labor  therefore 
to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest  any  man  fall  after  the  same 
example  of  unbelief."  Heb.  4:  11. 

'Twas  an  awful  time  for  the  faithless  man  who  refused  to  leave 

his  sin; 
He  had  failed  to  learn  from  the  desert  tests,  and  he  could  not 

enter  in. 
But  the  conquering  host  by  the  pillar  led  moved  on  to  Canaan's 

shore, 
And  the  faithless  fell  in  the  wilderness,  for  the  sifting  time  was 

o'er. 

Tis  an  awful  time  for  the  faithless  man  in  the  church  of  God 
today, 

For  the  final  sifting  at  last  has  come;  he  is  falling  by  the  way. 

But  the  justified  in  their  armor  bright,  and  with  faith  their  bat- 
tle cry, 

Are  marching  today  'gainst  the  walls  of  sin,  with  power  from 
on  high. 

Tis  a  glorious  time  for  the  church  today;  for  the  trump  again 
has  blown, 

And  the  hosts  of  God  by  the  pillar  led,  move  on  to  their  prom- 
ised home; 

And  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  "latter  rain"  with  his  peace  and  jo> 
and  power, 

O'er  the  church  now  falls  with  refreshing  floods,  like  a  glorious 
summer  shower. 


THE  FAITHFUL  FREEDMEN  235 

Chorus. 

The  pillar  of  cloud  is  rising!    Behold!  what  a  glorious  sight! 
It  moves  toward  the  land  of  promise.    Awake !  O  ye  children  ©f 

light ! 

The  trump  of  God  is  calling  the  wilderness-wandering  host 
Away  from  the  desert  sinful;  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." 


XL 
THE  ORIGINAL  PROCLAMATION,  IS  IT  AUTHENTIC? 

"And  they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony."  Rev.  12: 11. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  hour  when  the  truth  and 
power  of  the  above  scripture,  came  to  my  help  in  the 
time  of  temptation.  I  was  delivering  a  series  of  dis- 
courses in  London  on  the  blighting  influence  of  modern 
Spiritualism.  On  the  third  night  a  number  of  strangers 
entered  the  hall,  and  seated  themselves  on  the  front  seats. 
1  felt,  though  why  I  could  not  tell,  forebodings  of  a 
battle  with  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil 
and  Satan.  Remembering  that  to  be  forewarned  is  to 
be  forearmed,  I  determined,  if  possible,  to  discover  the 
enemy.  To  do  this  I  announced  a  most  thoroughly 
evangelistic  hymn,  and  we  sang: 

"I   am   coming   to   the   cross ; 

I  am  poor   and   weak   and   blind, 
I  am  counting  all  but  loss, 
I    shall    full    salvation    find. 

"I  am  trusting,  Lord,  in  Thee, 

Blessed  Lamb  of  Calvary, 
Humbly  at  Thy  cross  I  bow, 
Save  me,  Jesus,  save  me  now." 

I  watched  to  see  who  were  for  us  and  who  for  our 
enemies.  The  plan  succeeded  quickly  in  discovering  sev- 


236  THE  ORIGINAL  PROCLAMATION, 

eral  of  the  enemy,  and  supposing  that  those  who  bowed 
their  heads  reverently  on  taking  their  seats  and  who  sang 
this  Gospel  hymn  freely,  were  friends,  I  proceeded  with 
the  discourse,  meeting,  as  I  anticipated,  the  determined 
resistance  of  the  discovered  enemy,  manifested  in  sar- 
castic smiles  and  whispered  ridicule.  But  the  Lord  by 
His  Spirit  triumphed  over  it  all,  and  the  meeting  was 
drawing  to  a  successful  close,  when  a  gentleman  (whom 
I  had  taken  for  a  friendly,  evangelistic  clergyman,  be- 
cause of  the  reverence  manifested  in  bowing  his  head  in 
prayer  on  taking  his  seat,  and  because  of  his  singing  so 
freely  the  testing  hymn  at  the  opening),  begged  most 
politely  permission  to  ask  the  speaker  a  question.  This 
being  granted,  he  arose  and  addressing  the  audience, 
said: 

"The  speaker  of  the  evening  has  made  the  statement 
that  the  teachings  of  Spiritualism  destroy  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  This  is  a  strong  statement,  and  I  ask  for  definite 
proof."  I  replied  briefly  that  Spiritualists  who  desired 
to  become  Christians  had  come  to  me  to  be  prayed  with 
that  they  might  be  delivered  from  the  blighting  shadow 
of  Spiritualism,  and  that  Spiritualists  did  not  believe  in 
salvation  through  faith  in  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

To  this  the  questioner  replied  that  he  held  in  his  hand 
the  standard  book  of  authority  on  Spiritualism  in  the 
Kingdom,  and  said  he  would  like  to  read  from  this  book 
what  Spiritualists  did  really  believe  regarding  Jesus 
Christ.  Permission  being  given,  he  read  several  para- 
graphs containing  beautiful  sayings  about  Christ, — the 
purity  and  simplicity  of  His  life,  His  opposition  to  phari- 
seeism  and  formality,  and  many  other  good  things.  On 
hearing  this  the  audience  seemed  troubled,  and  looked 
at  me  with  expressions  on  their  faces  which  said  inau- 


IS  IT  AUTHENTIC?  237 

dibly,  but  plainly,  "Mr.  Ballanger,  Have  you  not  made  a 
mistake  in  your  statements  concerning  Spiritualism?" 

Seeing  their  perplexity,  I  exhorted  them  to  listen  at- 
tentively to  the  gentleman,  knowing  that  it  would  not 
be  long  before  this  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing  would  be 
unmasked.  When  he  came  to  a  pause,  I  said,  "But, 
neighbor,  do  Spiritualists  believe  in  salvation  through 
faith  in  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  Christ?" 

"I  have  more  that  I  desire  to  read,"  replied  the  gen- 
tleman, evading  the  question. 

Then  followed  more  beautiful  things  about  Christ. 
When  he  came  to  another  stop,  with  unbounded  confi- 
dence in  the  overcoming  power  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
I  asked  again,  "But  do  Spiritualists  believe  in  salvation 
through  faith  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ?" 

"I  have  another  selection  which  I  desire  to  read,"  he 
replied.  His  evasion  of  the  question  only  whetted  the 
appetite  of  the  audience  for  his  answer.  Again  he  read, 
and  read  as  if  afraid  to  stop  for  fear  the  same  piercing, 
overcoming,  crimson  question  would  be  asked. 

At  last  he  paused,  and  again  I  asked,  "But  do  Spirit- 
ualists believe  in  salvation  through  the  atoning  blood  of 
the  Son  of  God?"  He  could  evade  the  question  no 
longer.  After  a  moment's  hesitation,  while  the  crimson 
crept  to  his  cheeks,  with  a  sudden  burst  of  rage  he  shed 
his  sheep's  clothing,  and  with  the  howl  of  a  wolf,  he 
began  railing  on  "a  God  that  would  permit  His  innocent 
Son  to  die  for  a  race  of  criminals."  The  deception  was 
disclosed,  the  victory  won. 

But  it  was  only  half  won.  The  blood  of  the  Lamb 
had  conquered  the  gentle,  meek-mannered  wool-clothed 
deceiver ;  but  the  bristling,  fighting,  bloodthirsty  wolf  was 
yet  unconquered,  and  rising  again,  he  returned  to  the 


IS  IT  AUTHENTIC?  239 

charge  with  the  ferocity  of  a  wounded  beast.  This  is 
what  he  growled: 

"I  challenge  the  speaker  to  find  a  text  in  Matthew, 
Mark,  or  Luke  which  declares  that  salvation  is  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  can  be  found  in  John,  but  it 
is  not  found  in  any  of  the  other  gospels.  If  it  is  so  im- 
portant a  doctrine  as  you  affirm,  why  is  it  not  found  in 
the  other  books?  I  challenge  you,  sir,  to  find  the  text 
in  the  three  books  named." 

This  was  a  trap,  and  I  quickly  fell  into  it.  But  I  am 
glad  now  that  I  did,  for  I  came  out  of  it  more  than  con- 
queror through  Him  that  loved  us.  Instead  of  ignoring 
the  challenge  and  declaring  that  one  scripture  was  all- 
sufficient,  I  foolishly  followed  the  bait,  and  turned  and 
read  the  very  scripture  that  the  enemy  was  hoping  I 
would  read.  Turning  to  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Mark 
I  read  the  15th  and  16th  verses. 

"And  He  said  unto  them,  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned." 

With  the  flush  of  certain  victory  on  his  face,  and  in 
tones  of  triumph,  he  turned  to  the  audience  and  said: 

"This  man  is  behind  the  times ;  he  is  out  of  date,  and 
he  has  an  out-of-date,  back-number  Bible.  I  hold  in  my 
hand  the  up-to-date  Bible.  I  have  the  Revised  Version, 
and  there  is  in  the  margin  of  this  Bible  opposite  the  text 
which  he  read,  this  note:  "The  two  oldest  Greek  manu- 
scripts omit  from  Ver.  9  to  the  end." 

"And  now  I  ask  the  gentleman,"  he  continued,  "which 
manuscript  constitutes  his  Bible?  Which  translation  is 
your  authority?  There  is  not  a  page  of  original  manu- 
script now  in  existence;  nor  is  there  a  copy  old  enough 
to  reach  within  four  hundred  years  of  the  times  of  the 
apostles.  How  do  you  know  that  you  have  the  writings 


240  THE  ORIGINAL  PROCLAMATION 

of  apostles?    How  can  you  prove  that  your  book  is  the 
Word  of  God?" 

Reader,  what  answer  would  you  have  given?  Are 
you  able  to  meet  that  attack?  If  not;  you  are  certainly 
defeated  in  the  presence  of  infidelity,  either  masked  in 
the  church,  or  unmasked  in  the  world.  The  object  of 
the  following  chapter  is  to  make  known  the  answer  to 
those  who  do  not  know  it,  and  to  point  the  way  to  that 
place  of  power  where  the  question  will  never  be  asked. 


XLI 
THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY 

There  is  an  answer  to  the  question  asked  by  the  in- 
fidel, and  the  answer,  though  simple,  is  charged  with  a 
power  which  no  man,  whether  potentate  or  peasant,  or 
body  of  men,  whether  sanhedrim  of  Solons  or  synagogue 
of  Satan,  will  ever  be  able  to  gainsay  or  resist.  This 
overcoming  answer  is  named  in  the  scripture  at  the  head 
of  this  chapter. 

"And  they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  by  the  Word  of  their  testimony." 

It  was  with  this  weapon  that  I  met  the  second  charge 
of  the  enraged  adversary.  I  testified  that  I  knew  the 
book  to  be  the  Book  of  God  because  of  the  transforma- 
tion it  had  wrought  in  my  life, — that  whereas  once  I  was 
the  slave  of  sinful  habits,  now  I  was  free.  Freedom  had 
come  into  my  life  through  faith  in  the  promises  recorded 
in  the  Book. 

The  reader  may  have  expected  a  more  scholarly,  criti- 
cal analysis  of  the  comparative  claims  to  genuineness  and 
authenticity  of  the  various  manuscripts  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  He  may  have  looked  for  an  answer 


THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY  241 


more  powerful.  There  is  no  answer  more  powerful.  It 
is  the  answer  of  the  seeing  man,  born  blind,  to  the  quib- 
bling questions  of  the  blind  pharisees.  "One  thing  I 
know,  that  whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see."  It  is  the 
companion  answer  to  that  one  at  the  Beautiful  Gate,  con- 
cerning which  this  is  written : 

"And  beholding  the  man  which  was  healed  standing 
with  them  they  could  say  nothing  against  it."  It  is  the 
sin-sick  man,  now  healed,  who  answers  the  questions  of 
the  critics  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  manuscript. 

Xote  this  illustration:  A  man  is  hobbling  along  the 
street  with  a  cane  in  each  hand,  his  face  the  very  picture 
of  pain,  stiff  in  every  joint,  sore  in  every  muscle.  A 
gentleman  meets  him  with  the  sympathizing  remark: 

"Good  afternoon,  friend.  You  appear  to  be  a  great 
sufferer.  It  is  rheumatism,  I  suppose." 

"Yes,  it  is  rheumatism,  and  I  have  suffered  from  it 
for  twenty  years.  It  has  grown  steadily  worse.  I  am 
regarded  as  incurable  by  the  physicians,  and  I'm  only 
trying  to  be  patient  until  the  end  comes,  which  I  hope  will 
be  soon." 

"Don't  despair,  you  can  be  cured,"  replies  the  sym- 
pathizing stranger.  "I  suffered  with  rheumatism  as  long 
as  you  have,  and  was  as  badly  crippled.  But  this  remedy 
(drawing  a  paper  from  his  pocket)  was  recommended  to 
me.  I  took  the  treatment  and  am  cured.  There  is  not 
a  stiff  joint  nor  sore  muscle  in  my  body,  and  I  am  en- 
tirely free  from  pain." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  had  rheumatism  as 
badly  as  I  have,  and  that  this  remedy  (taking  the  manu- 
script) cured  you?" 

"That  is  just  what  I  said,  and  that  is  what  I  mean, 
and  I  can  bring  witnesses  in  abundance,  among  them  my 
wife  and  children,  who  will  testify  to  the  physical  trans- 
formation which  that  remedy  has  wrought  in  my  life." 


242  THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY 

At  this  point  a  third  man  approaches,  addressing  the 
sufferer  thus : 

"You  appear  to  be  greatly  afflicted^  I  judge  you  are 
suffering  with  rheumatism." 

"Yes,  but  I  am  just  now  intensely  interested  in  a 
remedy  for  rheumatism  which  this  gentleman  has  handed 
me,  and  which  he  positively  affirms  cured  him  after  he 
had  been  afflicted  as  long  and  as  sorely  as  I." 

"Will  you  kindly  let  me  see  the  remedy?"  says  the 
third  man. 

"Certainly." 

"This  is  written  in  Greek,  is  it  not?  I  cannot  read 
Greek;  will  you  kindly  translate  it  for  me?"  The  first 
gentleman  reads  the  remedy. 

"That's  all  right,  that's  all  right,"  replies  the  third 
gentleman  enthusiastically.  "It  is  a  perfect  and  perma- 
nent cure.  I  have  a  copy  of  the  same  remedy  written  in 
Latin  (produces  an  old  manuscript),  and  it  was  this 
remedy  that  cured  me  after  twenty-five  years  of  torture. 
And  it  will  cost  you  nothing.  You  can  have  a  copy  of  it 
without  money  and  without  price.  It  cost  me  nothing, 
and  it  will  cost  you  nothing.  All  we  ask  in  return  is 
that  when  you  are  cured,  you  will  recommend  the  remedy 
to  others." 

At  this  point,  a  fourth  man  joins  the  group,  and  on 
learning  the  subject  of  conversation,  asks  to  see  the  won- 
derful remedy,  and  is  handed  the  Greek  copy. 

"I  cannot  read  Greek,  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  says  this 
fourth  gentleman. 

"Let  him  see  your  Latin  copy,  friend,"  says  number 
two,  addressing  the  third  gentleman. 

"Neither  can  I  read  Latin,"  says  number  four,  "I 
have  forgotten  practically  all  I  learned  of  the  language 
while  at  college."  (Third  man  translates  the  Latin  copy.) 

"That's  the  remedy.    That's  the  remedy,"  says  the 


THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY  243 

fourth  man  animatedly.  "That's  the  cure  for  rheumatism ! 
Here  is  the  same  one,  only  in  English  (producing  a 
printed  paper).  The  remedy  is  perfectly  reliable.  It 
cured  me  when  I  was  within  a  step  of  the  grave;  and  I 
have  known  of  many  others  whom  it  has  cured.  I  was 
once  as  sorely  afflicted  as  you,  friend,  and  I  was  cured, — 
permanently  cured, — by  that  simple  remedy.  I  can  pro- 
duce many  witnesses  from  among  my  family  and  friends 
who  will  testify  to  the  cure  it  has  effected  in  me." 

Reader,  do  you  not  see  the  force  of  all  this  ?  Would 
not  the  sufferer  from  rheumatism  be  foolish  in  the,  face 
of  all  this  living  testimony,  to  begin  to  quibble  about 
whether  the  Greek  copy  shown  him  was  the  original  copy, 
or  whether  the  others  were  faithful  translations  ?  Would 
not  the  cured  man  before  him  bear  testimony  to  the  gen- 
uineness and  authenticity  of  the  remedy?  What  matters 
i<  to  him  whether  the  copies  shown  him  are  the  originals, 
or  copies  of  the  originals,  or  copies  from  copies  of  the 
originals;  translations,  or  translations  from  translations, 
just  so  they  contain  the  cure? 

The  whole  world  is  sick  with  sin.  "All  have  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  The  Bible  from 
cover  to  cover  presents  God's  remedy  for  sin.  "They 
shall  call  His  name  Jesus,  for  He  shall  save  His  people 
from  their  sins."  But  the  remedy  was  never  ordained  to 
go  on  its  mission  alone.  The  great  commission  does  not 
read,  "Send  Bibles  into  all  the  world,"  but,  "Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature" ; 
"Ye  are  My  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord";  "Ye  shall  be 
witnesses  unto  Me  .  .  .  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth" ;  "Ye  are  our  epistles,  written  in  our  hearts,  known 
and  read  of  all  men" ;  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world" ; 
"The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  and 
we  beheld  His  glory" ;  "In  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was 
the  light  of  men" ;  "Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men 


244  THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY 

that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

In  continuing  the  illustration,  suppose  the  sufferer 
from  rheumatism  should  have  discovered  a  time-stained 
copy  of  the  remedy  for  rheumatism  among  some  old  cast- 
away documents  in  an  obscure  nook  in  the  garret.  How 
could  he  be  sure  that  the  remedy  was  reliable?  How 
could  he  tell  whether  it  would  kill  or  cure?  As  he  sits 
in  pain  and  reads  the  promised  cure,  in  his  perplexity  and 
doubt,  what  is  it  that  is  needed  to  inspire  faith  in  the 
remedy?  There  is  needed  the  recommendation  of  a  man 
who  has  been  redeemed  from  rheumatism  by  the  power 
of  that  remedy. 

This  is  not  saying  that  the  Spirit  of  God  could  not 
persuade  the  sin-sick  man  to  test  the  treatment  without 
a  living  witness.  "All  things  are  possible  with  God/' 
But  God's  ordained  plan  for  the  proclamation  of  His 
remedy  for  sin,  is  to  put  His  Spirit  on  the  living  witness, 
and  thereby  qualify  the  cured  man  with  power  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  cure. 

The  promised  Pentecostal  power  did  not  fall  on  the 
manuscript,  but  on  the  man.  The  message  of  the  manu- 
script was  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  needed  not 
the  baptism  of  power.  It  was  the  people  of  the  upper 
room,  not  the  parchment,  which  needed  the  Pentecostal 
power.  It  is  the  man  who  carries  a  copy  of  the  God- 
breathed  remedy  for  sin  in  his  hand,  and  a  sample  of  its 
cure  in  his  heart,  whom  God  baptizes  with  power  from 
on  high,  which  all  his  "adversaries  shall  not  be  able  to 
gainsay  or  resist." 

There  were  disputes  about  the  manuscripts  in  the 
days  of  Christ's  ministry;  the  Samaritan  doctors  denied 
the  genuineness  of  all  the  Old  Testament  save  the  five 
books  of  Moses.  The  Sadducees  questioned  the  authen- 
ticity of  some  of  the  prophets.  But  among  all  the  ques- 


THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY  245 

tions  which  Christ  was  called  upon  to  answer,  there  was 
not  one  concerning  the  genuineness  of  the  manuscript. 
And  why?  Because  the  cured  man,  the  manuscript-made 
flesh,  was  manifest  before  them.  And  they  were  too  busy 
righting  the  "Word  made  flesh"  to  find  time  to  fight  the 
Word  in  manuscript.  So  long  as  they  could  not  resist 
the  living  demonstration  of  the  power  of  the  book,  why 
attack  the  book?  Why  attack  the  prophets  of  the  resur- 
rection, while  the  promise  lives  in  a  living  Lazarus?  It 
was  Christ  the  life-giver,  and  Lazarus  the  living  life, 
which  the  higher  critics  sought  to  kill  in  the  days  of  old. 

What  did  the  fishermen,  Peter  and  John,  know  about 
the  quibbles  of  the  higher  critics?  They  were  schooled 
in  the  nibbling  of  the  fish,  but  not  in  the  quibbling  of 
the  Pharisees.  When  brought  before  the  higher  critics 
for  examination,  they  were  not  questioned  concerning  the 
quibbles  regarding  the  genuineness  of  the  book,  but  con- 
cerning the  cripple  who  was  healed  at  the  Beautiful  Gate, 
the  genuineness  of  whose  healing  they  could  not  deny. 
And  what  astonished  these  higher  critics  most  after  their 
astonishment  at  the  miracle  of  the  healed  man,  was  the 
boldness  of  Peter  and  John  who  knew  nothing  about  the 
higher  criticism,  and  who  were,  therefore,  in  their  estima- 
tion, only  unlearned  and  ignorant  men.  Let  us  read  this 
interesting  story : 

"Now  Peter  and  John  went  up  together  into  the 
temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer,  being  the  ninth  hour.  And 
a  certain  man  lame  from  his  mother's  womb,  was  car- 
ried, whom  they  laid  at  the  gate  of  the  temple,  which 
was  called  Beautiful,  to  ask.  alms  of  them  that  entered 
into  the  temple.  WTho,  seeing  Peter  and  John  about  to 
gc  into  the  temple,  asked  an  alms.  And  Peter,  fasten- 
ing his  eyes  upon  him  with  John,  said,  Look  on  us.  And 
he  gave  heed  unto  them,  expecting  to  receive  something 
from  them.  Then  Peter  said:  Silver  and  gold  have  I 


246  THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY 

none,  but  such  as  I  have  give  I  unto  thee:  In  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  rise  up  and  walk.  And  he 
took  him  by  the  right  hand  and  lifted  him  up;  and  im- 
mediately his  feet  and  ankle  bones  received  strength.  And 
he,  leaping  up,  stood  and  walked  with  them  into  the 
temple,  walking  and  leaping,  and  praising  God. 

"And  all  the  people  saw  him  walking  and  praising  God. 
And  they  knew  that  it  was  he  who  sat  for  alms  at  the 
Beautiful  Gate:  and  they  were  filled  with  wonder  and 
amazement  at  that  which  had  happened  unto  him.  And 
as  the  lame  man  which  was  healed  held  Peter  and  John, 
all  the  people  ran  together  unto  them  in  the  porch  that  is 
called  Solomon's  Porch,  greatly  wondering. 

"And  when  Peter  saw  it,  he  answered  unto  the  people, 
Ye  men  of  Israel,  why  marvel  ye  at  this:  or  why  look 
ye  so  earnestly  on  us,  as  though  by  our  own  power  or 
holiness  we  had  made  this  man  to  walk:  The  God  of 
Abraham,  and  of  Isaac  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our 
fathers,  hath  glorified  His  son  Jesus :  whom  ye  delivered 
up,  and  denied  Him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate,  when  he 
was  determined  to  let  Him  go.  But  ye  denied  the  Holy 
One  and  the  Just,  and  desired  a  murderer  to  be  granted 
unto  you,  and  killed  the  Prince  of  Life  whom  God  hath 
raised  from  the  dead,  whereof  we  are  witnesses.  And 
His  name,  through  faith  in  His  name,  hath  made  this 
man  strong  whom  ye  see  and  know.  Yea,  the  faith  which 
is  by  Him  hath  given  him  this  perfect  soundness  in  the 
presence  of  you  all.  And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that 
through  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers ;  but 
those  things  which  God  hath  showed  by  the  mouth  of  all 
His  prophets,  that  Christ  should  suffer,  He  hath  so  ful- 
filled." Acts  3: 1-18. 

The  boldness  of  Peter  and  John  at  the  trial  that  fol- 
lowed was  encouraged  by  the  presence  of  the  standing, 
walking,  leaping,  praising  demonstration  of  the  healing 


THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY  247 

power  of  the  Christ,  promised  in  the  manuscript  of  "all 
the  prophets."  Hence  what  we  need  today  is  the  cured, 
converted  man,  the  Word  made  flesh,  to  bear  testimony 
to  the  genuineness  of  the  Word  made  manuscript. 

Peter  and  John,  and  the  rest  of  the  little  band,  knew 
that  they  were  "unlearned  and  ignorant  men."  They  real- 
ized their  need  of  the  all-wise,  all-powerful  Leader  and 
Redeemer  to  continue  His  demonstrations  of  the  healing, 
converting  power  promised  in  the  parchments  of  the 
prophets,  in  order  that  they  might  continue  their  bold- 
ness in  preaching  the  promises  of  the  Word.  Conse- 
quently on  returning  from  the  threatening  council,  they 
called  a  prayer  meeting,  and  this  is  what  they  prayed : 

"And  now,  Lord,  behold  their  threatenings,  and  grant 
unto  Thy  servants  that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak 
Thy  word,  by  stretching  forth  Thy  hand  to  heal;  and 
that  signs  and  wonders  may  be  done  by  the  name  of  Thy 
holy  child  Jesus.  And  when  they  had  prayed  the  place 
was  shaken  where  they  were  assembled  together;  and 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake 
the  Word  of  God  with  boldness."  Acts  4:29,  31. 

Since  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  God's  rem- 
edy for  sin, — the  Gospel, — is  demonstrated  only  by  the 
cured  or  converted  sinner,  it  is  clear  to  all  that  the  lack 
of  the  living  witness, — the  converted  man, — leaves  the 
world  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of  the  remedy.  Here  lies 
the  reason  for  the  startling  increase  of  infidelity  in  the 
church  regarding  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures. 

My  own  experience  bears  testimony  to  this  truth. 
When,  through  failure  to  follow  faithfully  God's  formula 
for  the  cure  and  prevention  of  sin,  I  find  myself  the  vic- 
tim of  the  disease,  the  first  temptation  is  to  question  the 
remedy.  But  on  the  other  hand,  when  faithfully  fol- 
lowing the  treatment  prescribed,  I  find  myself  spiritually 
well  and  strong,  my  confidence  in  the  cure  is  unbounded. 


248  THE  WORD  OF  THEIR  TESTIMONY 

When  I  fail  to  let  the  remedy  doctor  me,  I  feel  I  must 
doctor  the  remedy.  Herein  lies  the  difficulty  of  today. 

"In  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come,  for  men 
shall  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous,  boasters, 
proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to  parents,  unthankful, 
unholy,  .  .  .  lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  lovers  of 
God ;  having  a  form  of  godliness  but  denying  the  power 
thereof."  2  Tim.  3  :  1-5. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  last-day  perils  proceed  not 
from  the  infidel  outside  of  the  church,  but  from  the  man 
inside  the  church  who  has  the  form  of  godliness  but  not 
the  power.  It  is  this  man  that  is  criticising  the  in- 
spiration of  the  manuscript,  and  the  genuineness  of  its 
cure.  The  cured  are  never  critics,  and  the  critics  are 
never  cured. 


XLII 
FALSE  WITNESSES 

Returning  to  the  illustration  of  the  preceding  chap- 
ter,— what  impression  would  be  made  on  the  rheumatic 
sufferer,  should  thirty  other  men  join  the  group  and  pro- 
fess to  have  been  cured  by  the  treatment,  when  their  wan 
faces,  wasted  forms,  and  limping  walk,  testified  that  the 
treatment  had  not  cured  them?  Would  not  the  influence 
of  these  thirty  men  have  a  tendency  to  discourage  the 
rheumatic  sufferer  in  his  hope  of  a  cure?  Are  not  the 
thirty  men  who  claim  to  have  taken  the  cure,  but  who  are 
not  cured,  bearing  witness  against  the  remedy?  What  a 
perplexity  confronts  the  man!  Three  witnesses  for  and 
thirty  against  the  cure!  If  he  decides  to  take  the  treat- 
ment, he  must  believe  the  testimony  of  the  three  and  dis- 
credit the  thirty.  And  what  are  the  three  to  do  if  they 


FALSE   WITNESSES  249 

save  the  sufferer  from  rejecting  the  remedy?  Must  they 
not  above  all,  convince  the  man  that  they  are  cured? 
Must  not  their  testimony  be  so  true  and  faithful,  and 
so  enthusiastic,  and  the  evidence  of  a  cure  so  apparent 
as  to  cause  the  sufferer  to  discredit  the  statement  of  the 
thirty  who  say  that  they  have  faithfully  followed  the 
remedy  ? 

This  illustrates  the  peril  unto  which  the  Gospel  of 
salvation  has  come  in  our  day.  Once  the  adversary 
worked  to  destroy  the  Gospel  by  destroying  those  who 
could  witness  to  its  cure.  Now  he  works  to  destroy  con- 
fidence in  the  cure  by  means  of  a  counterfeit  cure,  a  cure 
which  claims  to  be  genuine,  but  which  has  only  the  form 
without  its  power.  It  is  by  means  of  these  many  false 
witnesses  which  he  has  sent  out  into  the  world  that  he 
is  destroying  faith  in  the  saving  power  of  the  Gospel, — 
men  who  profess  to  be  Christians,  cured  men,  but  whose 
love  of  the  world,  love  of  money,  love  of  pleasure,  or 
love  of  applause,  prove  that  their  claim  to  be  cured  of 
all  these  carnal  afflictions  is  false. 

Before  leaving  this  phase  of  the  subject,  let  me  ask, 
What  would  you  think,  reader,  of  a  man  or  a  woman, — 
a  crippled,  deformed,  limping  rheumatic  sufferer, — who 
would  go  from  house  to  house  recommending  a  cure  for 
rheumatism?  And  what  would  you  think  of  such  a  per- 
son condemning  another  for  not  receiving  the  remedy 
which  he  recommends  with  his  lips,  but  belies  with  his 
life? 

Oh,  how  many  fathers  and  mothers  have  upbraided 
their  sons  and  daughters  for  not  receiving  Christ  when 
their  own  limping  lives  bear  witness  that  they  themselves 
have  not  received  Him !  How  many  husbands,  and  how 
many  wives,  condemn  their  unbelieving  companions  un- 
der the  same  sad  circumstances !  How  many  spiritually 
diseased  and  deformed  professing  Christians  criticise 


250  FALSE   WITNESSES 

their  unbelieving  neighbors  and  friends  for  not  professing 
the  Christ  when  they  themselves  are  condemned  by  their 
own  lives ! 

It  is  the  spiritual  cripples  who  have  not  faithfully 
submitted  to  the  treatment,  and  who  have  not  been  cured, 
who  throw  doubt  and  discredit  on  God's  remedy  for  sin. 
And  it  is  from  among  these  who  have  a  form  of  godli- 
ness without  the  power — who  profess  to  be  cured  with- 
out being  cured — that  the  criticism  of  the  cure  is  coming. 

After  stating  that  this  condition  would  characterize 
the  church  in  the  last  days,  the  apostle-prophet,  knowing 
that  this  would  mean  an  attack  on  the  Scriptures,  follows 
his  prediction  of  last- day  formality  with  a  testimony  to 
the  saving  power,  inspiration,  and  all-sufficiency  of  the 
message  of  the  manuscript,  and  calls  for  a  faithful  preach- 
ing of  that  Word,  in  view  of  the  fatal  falling  away  from 
its  faith  to  the  fables  of  men. 

"But  continue  thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast 
learned  and  hast  been  assured  of,  knowing  of  whom  thou 
hast  learned  them;  and  that  from  a  child  thou  hast 
known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee 
wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.  All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and 
is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God  may 
be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works. 

"I  charge  thee  therefore  before  God,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at 
His  appearing  and  His  kingdom;  preach  the  word;  be 
instant  in  season,  out  of  season;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort 
with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine.  For  the  time  will 
come  when  they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine ;  but  after 
their  own  lusts  shall  they  heap  to  themselves  teachers, 
having  itching  ears;  and  they  shall  turn  away  their  ears 


FALSE  WITNESSES  251 

from  the  truth,  and  shall  be  turned  unto  fables."  2  Tim. 
3:  14-17;  4: 1-4. 

It  was  the  Word  made  flesh  in  the  Master,  and  the 
same  Word  made  flesh  in  His  followers,  which  silenced 
the  critics  in  the  days  of  Christ  and  His  apostles.  There 
was  no  chance  to  criticise  the  inspiration  and  integrity  of 
the  Book,  so  long  as  all  the  promises  of  the  parchment 
were  living  realities  in  the  life  and  labor  of  its  apostles. 

What  is  the  meaning,  therefore,  of  the  boldness  and 
defiance  of  this  last-day  departure  from,  and  denunciation 
of  the  old-time  faith  in  the  integrity  and  inspiration  of 
the  Book?  The  cause  is  well-nigh  lost,  from  a  military 
point  of  view,  when  the  friends  of  the  cause  are  beaten 
at  the  front,  and  the  enemy  has  captured  the  base  of 
supplies  with  its  stores  of  food  for  the  fighting  men  at 
the  front  and  their  munitions  of  war.  The  ease  with 
which  the  enemy  attacks  the  inspiration  of  the  Book, — 
the  base  of  supplies  for  the  Christian  campaign, — speaks 
loudly  of  the  weakness  of  the  warrior  at  the  front. 

The  writer  boldly  charges  that  the  startling  criticism 
of  the  manuscript  today,  is  due  entirely  to  the  weakness 
of  the  professed  warriors  of  Christ  whose  "form  of  god- 
liness without  the  power"  unfits  them  to  face  the  foe,  and 
thus  leaves  the  witnessing  word  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemies  of  the  cause  of  Christ. 

But  although  this  is  our  position  and  this  our  peril, 
there  is  hope.  Though  the  case  seemed  hopelessly  lost 
to  the  lonely  prophet,  the  Lord  informed  him  of  seven 
thousand  who  had  not  yet  bowed  the  knee  to  the  con- 
quering Baal.  This  is  not  the  first  time  the  Philistines 
have  defeated  and  disarmed  the  host  of  God. 


252  HOW  THE  CAUSE  WAS  ONCE  SAVED 

XLIII 

HOW  THE  CAUSE  WAS  ONCE  SAVED 

•  Once,  when  the  cause  was  lost,  and  the  warriors  dis- 
armed and  the  nation  enslaved,  a  single  sword  saved  the 
day.  Israel  had  sinned  and  lost  his  boldness  in  battle. 
The  Philistines  had  conquered  and  carried  away  his 
weapons  of  war.  "There  was  neither  sword  nor  spear 
found  in  the  hand  of  any  of  the  people  that  were  with 
Saul  and  Jonathan :  but  with  Saul  and  with  Jonathan  his 
son  was  there  found"  (1  Sam.  13:22).  Also,  there  was 
no  chance  of  making  any  swords,  for,  "there  was  no 
smith  found  throughout  all  the  land  of  Israel:  for  the 
Philistines  said,  Lest  the  Hebrews  make  them  swords  or 
spears.  But  all  the  Israelites  went  down  to  the  Philis- 
tines, to  sharpen  every  man  his  share,  and  his  coulter, 
and  his  ax  and  his  mattock."  Vs.  19,  20. 

All  was  quiet  so  long  as  Israel  was  satisfied  to  be 
slaves  of  the  Philistines  and  farm  for  a  livelihood,  and 
keep  the  two  swords  in  their  scabbards.  But  one  of  the 
swordbearers  was  determined  to  fight  for  deliverance 
from  this  disgraceful  slavery. 

"And  Jonathan  smote  the  garrison  of  the  Philistines 
that  was  in  Geba,  and  the  Philistines  heard  of  it"  ( 1  Sam. 
13:3).  "And  the  Philistines  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether to  fight  with  Israel,  thirty  thousand  chariots,  and 
six  hundred  thousand  horsemen,  and  people  as  the  sand 
which  is  on  the  seashore  in  multitude,  and  they  came  up, 
and  pitched  in  Michmash,  eastward  from  Beth-aven. 

"When  the  men  of  Israel  saw  that  they  were  in  u 
strait  (for  the  people  were  distressed)  then  the  people 


HOW  THE  CAUSE  WAS  ONCE  SAVED  253 

did  hide  themselves  in  caves  and  in  thickets,  and  in  rocks, 
and  in  high  places,  and  in  pits.  And  some  of  the  Hebrews 
went  over  Jordan  to  the  land  of  Gad  and  Gilead.  As 
for  Saul,  he  was  yet  in  Gilgal,  and  all  the  people  (about 
six  hundred  men)  followed  him  trembling."  1  Sam. 
13 :  5-7. 

In  some  respects  this  is  a  striking  representation  of 
the  situation  as  it  stands  today  between  the  forces  of  the 
church  and  the  world.  Through  departing  from  God  the 
church  today  has  practically  lost  to  the  enemy  "the  sword 
of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God."  There  are 
some,  like  Saul,  who  still  have  their  swords,  but  they  are 
afraid  to  use  them  because  of  the  presence  of  the  great 
multitude  of  destructive  Philistine  critics,  who  have  de- 
feated and  disarmed  the  great  majority  of  their  sin- 
v;eakened.  brother  warriors.  The  church  has  ceased  to 
be  aggressive.  Some  have  gone  over  to  the  enemy,  some 
have  crawled  into  silent  seclusion,  and  the  remainder, 
swordless  and  scared,  are  trembling  around  the  sword- 
sheathed  Saul  and  the  sacred  ark. 

But,  though  the  situation  today,  as  in  the  days  of 
Saul,  is  desperate,  it  is  not  hopeless.  The  deliverance 
can  and  will  be  wrought  now  as  it  was  wrought  then. 
Jonathan  still  possessed  a  sword,  and  unlike  Saul,  he  had 
faith  in  its  cutting  qualities.  It  made  no  difference  to 
him  whether  his  father,  or  any  of  the  fathers  of  Israel, 
had  faith  to  fight,  he  would  go  up  against  the  enemy 
alone. 

"And  Jonathan  said  to  the  young  man  that  bare  his 
armour,  Come,  and  let  us  go  over  unto  the  garrison  of 
these  uncircumcised :  it  may  be  that  the  Lord  will  work 
for  us :  for  there  .is  no  restraint  to  the  Lord  to  save  by 
many  or  by  few."  1  Sam.  14 : 6. 

Here  lies  the  secret  of  Jonathan's  success.    Jonathan 


254          HOW  THE  CAUSE  WAS  ONCE  SAVED 

believed  in  miracles.  He  believed  in  miracles, — not  mira- 
cles only  in  the  days  of  Moses,  but  in  the  days  of  Jona- 
than. Only  by  a  miracle  can  God  save  by  few  or  by 
many.  Here  is  the  weak  spot  in  the-  warrior  of  today. 
He  does  not  believe  in  the  miraculous  power  behind  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit.  If  he  has  not  yet  repudiated  the 
possibility  of  Moses'  miracles,  he  has  forsaken  the  pos- 
sibility of  modern  miracles,  which  is  the  same  thing  in  its 
practical  effect  on  the  righting  forces  of  his  faith. 

"And  Jonathan  climbed  up  upon  his  hands  and  upon 
his  feet,  .  .  .  and  they  fell  before  Jonathan,  and  his 
armor-bearer  [who  doubtless  had  captured  a  sword  from 
the  enemy]  slew  after  him.  .  .  .  And  there  was  trem- 
bling in  the  host,  in  the  field,  and  among  all  the  people ; 
the  garrison,  and  the  spoilers,  they  also  trembled,  and 
the  earth  quaked :  so  it  was  a  very  great  trembling." 
Verse  13. 

The  trembling  is  now  transferred  from  the  swordless 
six  hundred  at  Migron  to  the  scattered  millions  at  Mich- 
mash. 

"And  Saul  and  all  the  people  that  were  with  him  as- 
sembled themselves  and  they  came  to  the  battle.  .  .  . 
Moreover,  the  Hebrews  that  were  with  the  Philistines 
before  that  time,  which  went  up  with  them  into  the 
camp  from  the  country  round  about,  even  they  also 
turned  to  be  with  the  Israelites  that  were  with  Saul  and 
Jonathan.  Likewise  all  the  men  of  Israel  which  had  hid 
themselves  in  Mt.  Ephraim,  when  they  heard  that  the 
Philistines  fled,  even  they  also  followed  hard  after  them 
in  the  battle.  So  the  Lord  saved  Israel  that  day."  1  Sam. 
14:20-23. 

In  like  manner  will  Israel  be  saved  today.  Come, 
reader,  let  us  go  up  against  these  uncircumcised  enemies 
of  God's  Word.  I  still  have  a  sword,  thank  the  Lord, — 


HOW  THE  CAUSE  WAS  ONCE  SAVED  255 

a  sword  sharpened  at  God's  great  grindstone,  personal 
experience, — a  sword  whose  keen  edge  has  never  been 
ground  dull  on  the  grindstone  of  modern  criticism. 

Leave  the  swordless  six  hundred  who  tremble  for  the 
safety  of  the  ark.  God  will  take  care  of  the  ark.  The 
base  of  supplies  is  safe  at  the  rear,  while  we  faithfully 
fight  at  the  front.  Up,  comrades,  let  us  go  to  the  front ! 
God  will  defend  the  Book. 

It  is  not  the  Word  made  manuscript  that  is  to  meet 
the  enemy  in  battle,  but  the  Word  made  man.  The  sword 
of  the  Spirit  which  triumphed  in  Christ  and  again  in  the 
apostles,  was  the  Word  made  flesh.  It  was  this  living 
witness-warrior  that  was  baptized  with  fire  and  power 
at  Pentecost,  who  conquered  the  critics  at  Jerusalem  and 
at  Athens,  that  transferred  the  fight  from  the  Word  made 
manuscript  to  the  Word  made  man. 

It  is  this  class  of  warriors  that  will  rescue  the  Book 
today  from  the  hands  of  the  Philistine  critics.  And  when 
this  shall  be  done,  then  the  trembling  will  be  transferred 
from  the  camp  of  the  saints  to  the  camp  of  the  critics ; 
then  the  disarmed,  defeated  dominie  who  has  crawled  into 
silent  'seclusion  at  the  approach  of  the  hostile  host  of 
modern  critics,  will  crawl  out  of  his  hiding  and  seize  a 
sword  wrested  from  the  enemy  by  some  Jonathan  and  his 
armor-bearer,  and  join  the  victorious  chase.  Indeed,  it 
may  then  be  as  before,  that  some  who  in  their  weakness 
have  gone  over  to  the  Philistines, — some  who  are  counted 
in  the  camp  of  the  critics, — will  turn  to  be  with  Jonathan 
and  his  conquering  host. 

Now  in  closing  this  thought,  let  the  writer  introduce 
another  paragraph  from  his  fighting  experience  to  con- 
firm that  which  has  been  written. 


256  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE 

XLIV 
PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  a  series  of  successful  revival 
services  that  a  man  called  upon  me  at  my  lodgings.  With 
abundance  of  self-confidence  he  began  the  interview  by 
informing  me  that  there  was  positively  no  reality  in  that 
Gospel  which  I  was  preaching;  that  the  whole  thing, — 
Bible  and  all, — was  a  gigantic  fraud. 

"What  do  you  know  about  it?"  I  asked.  "Were  you 
ever  a  Christian?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  was  the  confident  reply.  "I  have  been 
through  the  whole  thing.  I  have  been  in  the  church  and 
now  I  am  out.  And  there  is  absolutely  nothing  in  it." 

Looking  the  stranger  straight  in  the  eye,  I  said: 
"Friend,  did  you  ever  experience  the  power  of  the  Gos- 
pel to  save  you  from  enslaving,  besetting  sins  which  you 
had  struggled  in  vain  to  conquer  ?  Did  you  ever  experi- 
ence the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  save  you  from  selfishness 
and  self-esteem,  from  harboring  hardness  in  your  heart 
for  an  enemy  who  had  wronged  you,  from  unclean 
thoughts  and  selfish  ambitions  ?  Did  you  ever  experience 
the  power  of  God  to  deliver  you  from  these  fleshly  lusts 
and  keep  you  delivered?" 

This  was  a  dangerous  question,  and  like  the  Pharisees 
of  old  when  they  were  questioned,  he  dreaded  to  answer. 
No  wonder  he  was  afraid.  If  he  answered,  "Yes,"  he 
was  a  liar,  because  he  had  said  the  whole  thing  was  a 
fraud.  If  he  answered  "No,"  he  was  a  liar,  because  he 
had  said  he  had  explored  all  there  was  to  experience.  He 
hesitated,  but  finally  answered  "No." 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE  257 

"Come,  my  brother,"  I  continued,  "you  are  condemn- 
ing that  about  which  you  know  nothing.  You  remind  me 
of  the  boy  who  lacked  the  shilling  necessary  to  admit 
him  to  the  exposition,  but  who,  when  the  other  boys  came 
out,  attempted  to  tell  them  what  was  and  what  was  not 
inside.  You  have  never  been  inside;  how  can  you  tell 
me  that  there  is  nothing  in  it?  Come  inside,  experience 
the  power  of  the  Gospel,  and  then  you  will  be  able  to 
talk  more  intelligently  of  what  there  is  in  it."  Subdued 
and  humbled,  he  went  away. 

Do  you  see  what  it  was  that  defeated  him  ?  He  came 
prepared  to  talk  wisely  on  the  mistakes  of  Moses  and 
the  manuscripts,  on  their  integrity  and  inspiration;  but 
before  he  reached  the  Book,  he  was  mortally  wounded 
by  a  thrust  from  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, — "the  Word 
made  flesh,"  or  personal  experience.  "They  overcame 
him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  by  the  word  of  their 
testimony."  Oh,  for  men  who  have  an  overcoming  tes- 
timony to  bear  to  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  heal  and 
to  keep  strong! 

But  there  are  so  many  who  have  tampered  with  the 
treatment  instead  of  faithfully  following  the  Gospel  di- 
rections, and  who  in  consequence  are  not  cured ;  and  what 
is  worse,  have  lost  confidence  in  the  cure;  and  who  not 
only  are  not  able  to  bear  testimony  to  its  power,  but  by 
life  and  lips  are  witnessing  against  it.  Faithful  witness 
must  here  be  borne  to  the  sad  fact  that  it  is  more  difficult 
to  bring  real  salvation  to  the  gray-haired  churchman  who 
has  all  his  life  held  back  a  part  of  the  price,  and  who,  in 
consequence,  has  forty  years  of  experimental  failure  to 
fall  back  on,  when  told  of  the  saving  and  keeping  power 
of  the  Gospel,  than  it  is  to  save  the  harlot  and  the  pub- 
lican. 

It  stands  to  reason  that  when  a  man  or  woman  has 


258  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE 

taken  a  certain  remedy  for  a  certain  disease  for  forty 
years  without  experiencing  a  cure,  it  is  hard  to  restore 
confidence  in  the  remedy.  It  is  tampering  with  the  rem- 
edy instead  of  faithfully  taking  it,  tha't  leads  to  its  re- 
pudiation and  its  fearful  consequences. 

"Except  a  man  forsake  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be 
My  disciple."  "Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  instru- 
ments of  unrighteousness  unto  sin,  but  yield  yourselves 
unto  God,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead,  and  your 
members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto  God. 


Once  I  was  drifting  away  with  the  tide, 

The  sport  of  the  wind  and  the  wave; 
The  storms  of  temptation  were  driving  my  bark 

To  find  'neath  the  breakers  a  grave. 
"Lengthen  your  cable,  the  anchor  will  hold," 

I  heard  'bove  the  roar  of  the  blast; 
I  lengthened  my  cable,  O  praise  ye  the  Lord, 

My  anchor   is  holding  at  last. 

Chorus. 
It  holds,  hallelujah,  it  holds,  it  holds! 

My   anchor's   holding   fast; 
The  Rock  of  the  Ages  unmovable  stands, 

My  anchor  holds  at  last. 
It   holds,   hallelujah,   it   holds,   it  holds! 

The  cable  bears  the  shock; 
The  waves  of  temptation  dash  harmlessly  by 

I'm  anchored  to  the  Rock. 

Since  I  was  rescued  from  drifting  and  death, 

I've  breasted  the  wind  and  the  wave; 
And  given  my  life  with  a  joy  that  is  new, 

Poor,  perishing  sinners  to  save. 
"Lengthen  your  cable,  the  anchor  will  hold," 

I've  cried  to  the  wrecks  as  they  passed; 
Some  lengthened  their  cables,  O  praise  ye  the  Lord, 

And  anchored  with  me  from  the  blast. 


PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE  259 

Thousands  of  churchmen  are  drifting  today, 

As  wrecks  in  the  storm  and  the  cold; 
By  drifting,  my  brother,  you  say  to  the  lost, 

"The  anchor  of  God  will  not  hold." 
Lengthen  your  cable,  the  anchor  will  hold; 

The  word  of  the  Lord  cannot  fail; 
Yes,  lengthen  your  cable,  O  glory  to  God, 

I'm  anchored  at  last  from  the  gale. 

Oh,  who  is  there  drifting,  all  helpless  today, 

By  tempest  of  passion  or  pride, 
A  wreck  rushing  on  to  the  breakers  of  death, 

Quick !     Anchor  your  bark  by  my  side. 
Lengthen  your  cable,  the  anchor  will  hold, 

I  know,  for  my  anchor  is   fast; 
Yes,  lengthen  your  cable,  O  praise  ye  the  Lord, 

My  anchor  is  holding  at  last. 


XLV 
A  WONDERFUL  DELIVERANCE  FROM  SIN  AND  SICKNESS 

"O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  for  He  is  good;  for 
His  mercy  endureth  forever." 

"O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord;  call  upon  His  name; 
make  known  His  deeds  among  the  people." 

It  is  in  response  to  this  exhortation  of  the  Lord  to 
tell  of  His  goodness,  that  these  lines  are  written. 

My  heart  was  in  such  a  condition  that  at  any  moment 
it  was  liable  to  cease  to  act.  My  nerves  were  shattered, 
my  bowels  had  no  power  to  act  without  artificial  aid.  1 
went  to  the  infirmary  at  Peterboro  (England)  and  was 
treated  for  six  months,  but  came  home  no  better. 

All  the  while  I  was  troubled  with  dropsical  swellings ; 
sometimes  my  face,  then  my  feet,  legs  and  hands.  It  was 
thought  a  bath  cabinet  would  help  me,  and  one  was  pro- 
cured. I  would  sit  in  this  from  one  to  three  hours  to 


260  A   WONDERFUL  DELIVERANCE 

help  keep  back  the  swelling.  I  would  faint  over  and  over 
again,  but  only  by  that  means  was  the  swelling  kept  down. 
But  I  seemed  to  have  got  a  ray  of  hope  regardless  of  out- 
ward appearances,  and  I  battled  on  for  my  life.  Days 
of  weariness  and  suffering  constitute  my  history,  espe- 
cially from  the  age  of  seventeen  to  thirty-three.  But  at 
this  time  I  met  with  an  experience  which  brought  my  suf- 
ferings to  an  end  and  it  is  now  eighteen  months  since  I 
was  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  sickness.  My  heart 
burns  to  tell  the  sweet  story  of  deliverance  from  sin  and 
sickness. 

I  was  then  in  a  little  company  of  believers  in  South 
Wales  where  I  had  gone  in  search  of  health.  A  good 
brother  came  there  to  hold  meetings  for  the  benefit  of 
the  little  company.  The  first  night  he  told  us  of  deliver- 
ance from  sin,  and  declared  liberty  to  the  captives.  He 
dwelt  on  the  thought  that  when  the  Lord  died  on  the 
cross  we  died  with  Him.  When  He  entered  "within  the 
veil"  and  was  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  we  en- 
tered with  Him.  Continuing,  he  said:  "Likewise  reckon 
ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive 
unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  One  of  the 
company  saw  the  liberty  and  was  set  free  that  night.  A 
new  experience  marked  his  life.  I  was  feeling  somewhat 
depressed,  and  was  not  ready  to  shout  victory.  The  next 
night  the  minister  went  further  and  said,  if  we  would  by 
faith  reckon  ourselves  dead  unto  sin,  the  Lord  would  care 
for  the  result.  We  were  already  free,  would  we  not  be- 
lieve it?  The  Lord  desired  us  to  believe.  He  said,  "Sin 
shall  not  have  dominion  over  you."  It  was  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  and  God's  word  was  true.  I  thought,  That  is 
good,  but  how  can  I  reckon  that  I  am  dead  when  the  old 
nature  is  there  warring  all  the  time,  constantly  asserting 
itself  ?  Certainly  I  was  not  dead.  I  felt  more  miserable 
than  ever  before,  but  said  nothing. 


FROM  SIN  AND  SICKNESS  261 

I  went  to  bed  that  night  feeling  very  unhappy,  and  if 
ever  my  life  looked  black,  it  did  then.  I  saw  nothing  but 
pride,  selfishness,  boasting,  evil  thinking,  evil  speaking, 
yea,  every  evil  thing  seemed  to  be  bottled  up  in  my  wicked 
heart.  I  felt  that  I  knew  something  of  the  experience  of 
the  sinner  in  the  last  great  day  when  he  shall  call  for  the 
rocks  and  mountains  to  hide  him  from  the  face  of  Him 
who  sitteth  upon  the  throne.  I  trembled,  for  I  was  under 
condemnation.  I  realized  there  was  nothing  for  me  to  do 
but  to  fall  helpless  on  the  Lord.  I  could  not  change  my- 
self, but  in  the  quiet  hours  of  the  night  I  cried  to  God 
for  deliverance,  and  the  Lord  set  me  free!  I  could  now 
say  with  Hezekiah,  "Behold  for  peace  I  had  great  bitter- 
ness, but  now  thou  hast  in  love  to  my  soul  cast  all  my  sins 
behind  my  back." 

The  meetings  continued  for  ten  days.  Each  night 
some  were  stepping  into  the  liberty  proclaimed  for  them, 
and  many  gained  victory  over  besetting  sins.  After 
reckoning  myself  to  be  dead,  the  next  thing  was  to  be 
buried  with  Him  in  baptism  to  arise  to  walk  in  newness 
of  life.  I  was  feeling  very  weak,  and  was  suffering  a 
good  deal  of  pain,  but  said  nothing.  When  I  went  to  the 
water  I  felt  for  a  moment  like  fainting ;  and  my  heart 
beat  heavily.  But  I  lifted  up  my  soul  to  God  with,  "Lord, 
help  me !  "  and  it  seemed  as  if  I  was  carried  into  the  water 
with  some  strong,  loving  arms.  And  I  was.  "Underneath 
are  the  everlasting  arms."  I  was  safe  and  feared  noth- 
ing, and  it  is  needless  to  say  felt  no  ill  effects,  although  it 
was  in  the  month  of  January  and  the  water  was  cold. 

Next  day  brought  our  meetings  to  a  close.  We  had 
a  service  in  the  afternoon  in  the  sick-room  of  a  sister 
who  could  not  attend.  Only  a  few  were  present  in  that 
little  study.  The  thought  was  brought  out  that  this  Gos- 
pel takes  in  the  whole  being,  body  and  soul.  It  brings 
complete  deliverance  to  every  captive.  I  remember  very 


262  A   WONDERFUL  DELIVERANCE 

little  that  was  said.  I  was  feeling  quite  poorly  and  in 
much  pain,  but  no  one  knew  it.  I  feared  to  let  any  one 
know  just  how  I  felt  lest  they  should  hinder  my  going. 
But  I  remember,  Brother  Ballenger  turned  to  the  eighth 
chapter  of  Matthew  and  read,  "When  the  even  was  come, 
they  brought  unto  Him  many  that  were  possessed  with 
devils,  and  He  cast  out  the  spirits  with  His  word,  and 
healed  all  that  were  sick ;  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  by  Esaias  the  prophet,  saying,  Himself  took 
our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses." 

Those  words  riveted  themselves  in  my  mind.  He 
bore  my  sickness!  I  repeated  it  over  and  over  again. 
He  bore  my  sicknesses.  If  He  bore  my  sickness,  why  do 
I  bear  it?  He  bore  my  sins,  why  so?  In  order  that  I 
might  not  bear  them.  I  had  given  Him  all  my  sins,  and 
could  sing, 

"My  sin,  O  the  bliss  of  this  glorious  thought— 

My  sin — not  in  part,  but  the  whole, 
Is  nailed  to  His  Cross,  and  I  bear  it  no  more, 
Praise  the  Lord,  praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !" 

Why  could  I  not  give  Him  my  sickness,  too  ?  Surely 
He  bore  it  in  order  that  I  might  not  bear  it,  else  would 
it  be  in  vain  that  He  bore  it.  There  and  then  I  told  the 
Lord  to  take  me,  body  and  soul,  only  to  use  me  for  His 
service.  Since  He  bore  my  sins,  why  need  I  be  chained 
down  any  longer  ?  Since  He  bore  my  sickness,  why  need 
I  remain  in  my  bondage,  and  why  had  I  been  bound 
down  so  many  years  I  would  venture  to  believe  the 
promise,  and  that  moment  I  was  free!  My  pain  ceased 
just  at  the  moment  I  believed.  After  a  few  hours  I  had 
the  use  of  my  bowels,  which  I  had  not  had  for  six  years 
without  artificial  means.  That  night  I  went  to  bed  with 
not  a  sign  of  swelling  about  me  for  the  first  time  for 


FROM  SIN  AND  SICKNESS  263 

twelve  years,  and  to  this  day  I  have  never  seen  a  sign 
of  it. 

I  said  nothing  at  the  time.  I  was  tempted  to  say  noth- 
ing until  I  should  see  how  I  came  out ;  but  the  temptation 
was  resisted.  That  same  evening  I  said  a  few  words.  My 
heart  was  too  full  for  words,  and  I  longed  to  be  alone  with 
God  to  pour  out  my  soul  in  thanksgiving  to  Him  for  all 
He  had  done  for  my  soul  and  body  in  one  short  week. 
I  felt  no  excitement,  but  my  heart  was  filled  with  peace 
unspeakable.  The  devil  tempted  me  very  much  to  keep 
silent,  but  I  could  not.  I  commenced  to  write  and  tell 
others  of  my  deliverance.  No  one  who  has  not  been  in 
affliction  can  enter  into  the  feelings  of  a  well  body.  No 
one  who  does  not  know  what  it  is  to  be  either  tossed  on  a 
bed  of  pain,  not  knowing  which  way  to  turn,  or  sinking 
from  exhaustion,  wondering  if  the  thread  of  life  will  hold 
out  until  morning,  when  days  and  weeks,  months  and 
years  have  been  spent  in  such  sickness,  can  understand  it. 
And  then  for  that  one  to  realize  freedom  from  it  all! 
It  is  past  telling !  To  get  up  day  after  day,  feeling  well ; 
to  go  to  bed  assured  of  a  good  night's  rest,  is  wonder- 
fully sweet,  after  so  many  years  of  weariness. 

But  after  all,  freedom  from  the  old  carnal  nature  is 
sweeter.  To  know  that  God  for  Christ's  sake  has  for- 
given all  my  sins  and  saves  me  from  my  sins,  and  gives 
me  the  promise  that  He  will  keep  me  in  the  hour  of  temp- 
tation, and  one  day  will  present  me  before  the  Father 
faultless, — this  exceeds  it  all.  It  is  this  joy  that  is  my 
strength  day  by  day.  Truly  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  my 
strength.  I  have  been  tempted  over  and  over  again  since 
that  time ;  the  devil  has  brought  all  manner  of  objections 
to  me.  He  has  told  me  I  am  not  healed,  that  I  would 
find  I  was  not.  How  could  I  expect  to  be  healed  all  in  a 
moment ;  it  is  presumption  on  my  part.  I  had  better  be 


264  A   WONDERFUL  DELIVERANCE 

quiet  lest  I  break  down  again  and  give  people  occasion  to 
ridicule.  They  would  only  laugh  at  me. 

On  one  occasion  the  devil  almost  overcame  me  by  his 
doubts.  I  had  been  busy  all  the  day,  and  I  think  had 
walked  about  five  miles,  but  felt  no  ill  effects, — no  more 
than  any  ordinary  person  would  after  that  walk.  I  went 
to  bed  feeling  strong  and  well,  but  in  the  night  I  awoke 
just  as  I  often  used  to  when  I  was  sick.  I  felt  the  same 
old  feeling  coming  on,  faintness  and  weakness,  and  for  a 
moment  I  thought,  After  all,  am  I  deceived?  Is  it  all  a 
myth  ?  When  quick  to  my  rescue  came  the  words,  "I  am 
the  Lord  that  healeth  thee" ;  "Bless  the  Lord  O  my  soul, 
who  forgiveth  thine  iniquities,  who  healeth  all  thy  dis- 
eases; who  redeemeth  thy  life  from  destruction;  who 
crowneth  thee  with  lovingkindness  and  tender  mercies; 
who  satisfieth  thy  mouth  with  good  things;  so  that  thy 
youth  is  renewed  like  the  eagle";  "They  that  wait  upon 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall  mount  up 
with  wings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary; 
and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint."  And  with,  "It  is  writ- 
ten," the  tempter  was  gone.  My  strength  was  renewed. 
I  did  not  faint,  I  felt  strong,  and  fell  asleep.  In  the  morn- 
ing I  awoke  happy  in  the  victory  the  Lord  had  given  me. 

Constantly  I  am  tempted  to  be  silent  and  not  tell  what 
God  has  done,  but  I  know  it  is  of  the  devil,  and  if  I  stop 
and  listen  to  him  I  will  soon  be  brought  into  doubt. 
"They  overcame  Him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  by 
the  word  of  their  testimony."  I  know  that  to  claim  de- 
liverance from  sin  and  sickness  eighteen  months  ago  is 
not  enough  for  today.  I  recognize  that  grace  for  yester- 
day will  not  serve  me  for  today.  What  I  gather  from 
Gad  today,  of  grace,  will  not  suffice  for  tomorrow.  But 
O,  I  know  by  blessed  experience  that  the  same  God  who 
gave  me  strength  yesterday  is  all-sufficient  for  today. 
The  same  God  who  keeps  me  today  is  well  able  to  keep 


FROM  SIN  AND  SICKNESS  265 

me  tomorrow;  and  I  can  say  with  one  of  old,  "I  know 
in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  He  is 
able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  Him 
against  that  day." 

0  what  a  wonderful  cure!     I  shall  never  weary  tell- 
ing it.    How  can  I  weary  ? 

"I  love  to  tell  the  story,  'tis  pleasant  to  repeat, 
And  every  time  I  tell  it,  'tis  more  wonderfully  sweet 
I  love  to  tell  the  story,  it  did  so  much  for  me, 
And  this  is  just  the  reason  I  tell  it  now  to  thee." 

And  so  the  Lord  has  kept  me  day  by  day  by  simply 
believing  His  word.  I  am  well  all  the  time,  and  have 
been  ever  since.  Never  since  the  day  of  deliverance 
have  I  had  to  resort  to  any  aid  to  the  once  almost  para- 
lyzed bowels.  Never  have  I  fainted  from  exhaustion 
since  that  time.  Never  have  I  had  to  resort  to  the  bath 
cabinet  to  keep  back  the  dreaded  swelling.  Never  has 
my  poor  weak  heart  troubled  me  in  the  least.  Never  has 
my  back  pained  me  as  before.  Previous  to  that  I  never 
knew  freedom  from  pain.  In  short,  I  am  well  all  the  time. 
My  friends  who  knew  me  in  times  past,  and  see  me  now, 
can  only  say,  "What  hath  God  wrought!" 

1  will  now  lay  down  my  pen  with  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment, and  weep  tears  of  joy  at  the  readiness  with  which 
the  Lord  accepts  me.     O  for  power  to  make  known  the 
wonderful  works  of  God !     O  for  the  witnessing  power ! 
I  have  so  much  to  tell,  and  so  little  power  to  tell  it.    But 
now,  just  now,  I  claim  the  promise  of  the  Father,  "If  ye 
then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him."     While  I 
write  and  meditate  on  all  God's  dealings  with  me,  my 
soul   is  blessed  beyond  measure.    And  without  any  glory 
to  myself,  I  believe  some  one  who  reads  this  will  be  en- 


266  A   WONDERFUL  DELIVERANCE 

couraged  to  ask  more  largely  at  the  Lord's  hands.  This 
is  all  I  want;  this  is  all  I  ask.  Nothing  else  do  I  desire 
in  the  whole  earth  but  to  bring  glory  to  His  great  name, 
to  make  Him  a  praise  in  the  earth.  •  O,  that  it  may  be 
said  in  all  this,  "And  they  glorified  God  in  me." 

Dear  reader,  will  you  not  let  the  Lord  be  glorified  in 
you  ?  O  my  poor  sick  one,  again  I  say,  Let  the  Lord  have 
your  sickness.  Why  do  you  bear  it  when  the  Lord  is  so 
willing  to  bear  it  all  for  you  ?  Don't  you  see  how  useless 
it  is  for  you  to  bear  it  when  the  Lord  has  so  gladly  taken 
upon  Himself  our  infirmities?  In  vain  for  Him  to  bear 
it  if  you  bear  it  also.  You  are  free  indeed.  The  Lord 
bears  it  all  for  you.  You  need  only  to  believe  it,  my 
brother,  my  sister.  Give  Him  all  your  burden  of  sin, — 
that  evil  habit.  It  may  seem  a  small  thing,  but  it  is 
enough  to  separate  you  from  God.  Let  it  go ;  accept  the 
freedom.  "Reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed 
unto  sin  but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  The  Lord  is  faithful  who  has  promised,  and  He 
says  for  our  encouragement,  "If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my 
\vord  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall 
be  done  unto  you";  "If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  My 
name,  I  will  do  it";  "And  this  is  the  confidence  that  we 
have  in  Him,  that,  if  we  ask  anything  according  to  His 
will,  He  heareth  us :  and  if  we  know  that  He  heareth  us, 
whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the  petitions 
that  we  desired  of  Him." 

My  heart  bubbles  over  day  by  day,  not  with  an  un- 
usual, worked-up  excitement,  but  an  inward  joy;  and  I 
am  ready  to  sing  with  the  heart, 

"I  feel  like  singing  all  the  time,  my  tears  are  wiped  away; 
For  Jesus  is  a  friend  of  mine,  I'll  serve  Him  every  day." 


The  price  of  this  book,  "The  Proclamation  of  Liberty 
and  the  Unpardonable  Sin,"  is,  in  cloth,  $1.00;  in  half 
morocco,  $1.30. 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 

"Power  for  Witnessing" 

Contains  200  Pages  and  44  Chapters 

"The  message  of  the  book  is  the  Spirit's 
answer  to  the  writer's  heart-cries  for  power 
for  Christian  living  and  labor." 

The  author  leads  the  reader  step  by  step 
by  means  of  the  Scriptures,  through  pardon 
for  sin,  victory  over  sin,  and  then  to  the 
receiving  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  power  to 
witness  to  others. 

At  each  step  the  author  tells  his  own 
experience  in  receiving  these  gifts  of  God's 
grace. 

A  practical  book.  Interesting  and  help- 
ful to  both  sinner  and  saint. 

Bound  in  Cloth,  75  Cents 

ADDRESS 

A.  F.  BALLENGER 

RIVERSIDE,  CALIFORNIA 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE,.-  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE.lgpURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  D 
OVERDUE. 


AY 


JUL   11 


-^rot 


LD  21-100m-12,'43(S79Gs) 


'5770 


C04S5fc.H040 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


